Through Their Eyes
by dfunkt21
Summary: Lois is under the impression she's woken up somewhere she shouldn't be. Then things start getting weird. Don't judge a fic by it's lame summary. Clois.
1. Prologue & Chapter 1

**Through Their Eyes**

----Prologue

-June 7, 2008-

"Hey, are you finished with that?"

"Yup. Go ahead and take the rest of it."

Lois reached over and grabbed the remainder of Chloe's fettuccine alfredo and pulled it in front of her, discarding the few crumbs of her veal parmigiana. "Thank god for having a regular salary. I love being able to go out for dinner without feeling like I'm putting a strain on the bank account."

"Cuz, the way you eat, I don't know that you'll ever save up enough for retirement. Seriously, if you ever eat without me you're going to have to order two dinners just to fill up. I sometimes question whether or not you're six months pregnant with as much food as you put down."

Lois swallowed the bite she had been chewing and smirked at Chloe. "Don't worry, Chlo. I always seem to be eating with you, Clark or the both of you. There's always somebody to mooch off of, though Clark does tend to inhale his food." Lois paused a second to think. "You know what, I think a visit to Mrs. Kent is in order for some home cooking next weekend."

"That sounds great, Lois. Dad's been wanting to see me for a few weeks, but we've been so busy that I keep having to put it off. And who in the world can turn down a home cooked meal at the Kent farm?"

"Exactly. I'll call her and let her know we're coming when we get home." She took another bite and looked around at the little bistro they were in contemplatively. "As strange as it seems, I miss Smallville. Not the crazies that tried to kill us on a weekly basis, mind you, but just the feel of the town. Being in Metropolis... this will always be the place I refer to as home, but Smallville will be the place I always think of as the place I grew up... did I explain that well?"

Chloe smiled, taking a sip of her water. "I know what you mean. I moved there and thought nothing could be worse than going from the city to tiny Dullsville. But it grows on you; it worms its way into your heart and pretty quickly has you thinking about going back. Of course, it helps to have family there."

Lois nodded. "Indeed. Family is always good, be they blood or a small family on a farm that offered to put you up for a few nights and ended up giving you a home."

After paying the bill, they walked out into the summer night, arms linked and laughing as they thought about their time in Smallville. Suddenly Chloe pulled her arm away from Lois and groaned.

"Damn! I forgot my tapes from the interview at the Planet!" She smacked herself in the forehead and walked over to the street to hail a cab. "I have to go back and get the tapes so I can jot down notes tonight. Your interview tomorrow is fairly pointless without them."

Lois walked over to Chloe and gave her a reassuring pat on the arm. "Chlo, I can get by without the notes."

"Getting by is not doing your best. There's no point to being a team if I don't hold up my end of it, so I'm going back to the Planet. You should come with me. We'll stop on the way back and get some ice cream, my treat for being the most forgetful person you know."

Lois laughed at that. She knew that to be very much a lie. "Chloe, this is the first thing I remember you forgetting. _I_ am the most forgetful person I know. Smallville is a close second." She paused a second, thinking over that statement.

"Seriously, he always makes up lame reasons for showing up and hanging out with us. He'll drive hours just to come to the Planet and sit around for twenty minutes while we work. Then I ask him why he came and he starts stammering and mumbling about having nothing else to do. He's the lone worker on a farm! How does he have nothing to do?"

Chloe bit back a smile. She understood why Clark didn't want to tell Lois about his secret; it wasn't like it was anything new. It did make comments like that somewhat difficult not to comment on. It was odd, though... Clark had been showing up at the Daily Planet more often recently and was only stammering when around Lois. She'd have to ask him about the meaning of that tomorrow when he inevitably came to sit with them or ask for her help.

She finally waved down a cab and turned to face Lois. "Are you sure you don't want to come? Free ice cream AND you don't have to walk by yourself. It's a win/win situation." She opened the cab door, said a quick hello to the driver to make sure he didn't take his car elsewhere and turned back to Lois. "There's already been one attempt on your life, Lois. You need to be careful. Come on, nothing like ice cream and safety to make your young cousin happy."

"Chloe, I can walk by myself back to our apartment. It's a ten minute walk, and even in this less than top notch area of the city I can survive by myself. I promise, Chloe, nothing will happen that I can't handle. Besides, I wouldn't mind kicking some ass tonight. I'd work off a few of the calories I just took in."

----Chapter 1

She couldn't remember her pillow being this soft, nor the sheets and blankets, but she wasn't going to complain if somebody had decided to replace her stuff with superior products. She rolled over and quickly found herself grumbling at an intrusion into her peace by the sunlight streaming into her apartment. She turned back the other way and buried most of her face back into her now inordinately soft pillow.

Maybe she'd had a visit from the pillow gnomes, and they'd taken pity on her and provided her top level stuff. If so, she was definitely going to send them a thank you note in the near future. Maybe they were like Santa, and you just address the card to 'Pillow Gnomes' and the postal service would get it there...

With a long groan, Lois sat up, her eyes still closed. Coffee was definitely needed. Pillow gnomes only made that fact abundantly clear, and thinking about them any further would just make her think she'd lost a marble or three more than she suspected. No, coffee was more than just needed, it was just plain necessary at this point.

She threw the sheet off her lower body and swung her feet over the side of the bed, not bothering to open her eyes. Finding her way around the apartment, especially her own room, with closed eyes wasn't a problem for her. With a silly amount of effort, she made herself stand before she talked herself into five more minutes, which would inevitably be another hour.

At as slow a pace she could take, Lois began walking towards the bathroom, stretching her arms behind herself as she walked. She began planning her morning, figuring she needed to finish up some notes before she went off to do the interview Chloe had been so hasty to get her own notes last night that Lois figured they'd been done to perfection.

The team of Lane and Sullivan, or Sullivan and Lane depending on who you asked, was going to do top notch work if Lois had any say in it, and she knew Chloe felt the same. It was odd, but she couldn't remember seeing Chloe come home the previous night. Something to talk to her about later.

With a loud thump, a surprised grunt and a seemingly endless tumble backwards, Lois found herself opening her eyes for the first time since she'd awakened to stare at the ceiling. She cursed morning and its effective efforts at disorientation when something struck her as strange. That wasn't her usual ceiling. She turned her head to the right to find herself staring at a wall that was very foreign to her, but a dresser she knew well. She'd found the thing cheap when she and Chlo had moved in to their place.

She closed her eyes and rubbed her face a few times with each hand, making sure that she was awake and not just having a vivid dream. Slowly, she let her heavy eyelids lift from where they rested and glanced at the dresser again. It was definitely hers, but the wall behind it was certainly not. It didn't look like it wanted to change into her wall any time soon, either.

Lois shot up to a sitting position and found another wall that didn't belong to her in front of her, where the bathroom door was supposed to be. She looked around the room, seeing a slightly open door that was where the bathroom seemed to actually be, two more closed doors and a large glass door that was flooding the room with sunlight. Her eyes settled on a bed she'd never seen before, along with pillows and sheets that weren't hers. This explained the heavenly pillows and thoroughly quashed any pillow gnome theories.

Coffee. Coffee would save her from this... this delusion.

With more speed than Lois thought she had, she stood and ran to the nearest door and found a closet full of clothes that she didn't recognize and didn't want to examine. She turned and started running to the other door that could lead out of this room when she froze, eyes wide and breathing ragged as she backed up a few steps.

She hadn't just aged the usual eight hours over night. More like eight damn years.

"Ok Lois, it appears you went and pulled half a Rip Van Winkle here. Don't panic, don't panic, don't panic..."

She hadn't been here when she went to bed last night, that was for damn sure. Thinking about it for a moment, though, Lois realized she couldn't remember going to bed last night. Why the hell couldn't she remember what had happened after the restaurant last night? She didn't have any of the after effects of drinking herself into the ground, which was generally what made her forget things.

Lois decided to stop focusing on what she didn't know and focus on what she did. She had come awake in a room that wasn't hers, but had her dresser in it. Time had obviously passed, but just how much she couldn't be sure yet. That could be told from the way she looked. Not old, per se, but definitely older than she remembered being. Had the realization of her new age not been so shocking, she'd have been giddy about how good she seemed to look.

Her hair was its natural dark brown, which struck her as very odd as she hadn't had it that way in years. and she looked like she'd matured but didn't have any signs that she was getting up there in years. She figured herself in her early thirties, give or take a couple years. At least she hadn't woken up fifty.

'This is not exactly normal,' Lois thought. Not even by Smallville standards could she proclaim this as something that could possibly happen.

Shaking herself out of a mirror induced stupor, Lois decided she needed to get from wherever she was back to somewhere she knew. She could always go to the Kent farm as use it as a safe house if all else failed. She needed to know where she was, though, or else she'd have a hell of a time figuring out where exactly to go. Her best bet was out beyond the glass doors. Balcony, porch, whatever it was, it allowed for a quick establishment of location.

She headed over to the doors and grabbed a handle, then looked down to see what she was wearing. Looking at clothes had taken a backseat to having no idea as to what was going on, but giving people outside a free show certainly wouldn't make the day go any better. She glanced down and found herself wearing a plaid shirt that didn't quite make it to her knees.

Lois nearly shuddered then headed back to the closet she'd found earlier. She was just glad she'd realized what she was in before anybody had been given the chance to spot her. That would have raised a whole set of questions she'd be glad to deal with never, ever.

Rifling through the clothes at her disposal, she found a whole mess of business attire; slacks and coats, skirts, and various colored bouses that all looked somewhat expensive. She got to the end of the women's clothes and found herself going through men's attire. Nothing helpful, at all.

She withheld an exasperated sigh and eye roll and headed over to the dresser, going through drawers until she finally found a pair of jeans and some white t-shirts. The jeans fit her, a bit snugly and not a style she was used to. The t-shirt was apparently that of a man, and not a small one. She shed the plaid and pulled on the t-shirt to find herself draped in it. 'Still better than plaid,' she told herself. At least she wouldn't be extremely embarrassed by her clothes while she explained about how she had no idea what was going on to the people dragging her away to Belle Reeve or whatever facsimile they had around here.

Lois quickly moved across the room, not bothering to go around the bed. She pulled open one of the glass doors as quietly as she could and found herself staring at large buildings in front of her. It didn't take her long to spot landmarks that put her somewhere quite familiar. She was in Metropolis, and by the proximity of the Daily Planet globe, in the heart of the city.

"Okay," she said softly to herself. "The last thing I remember, Chloe is off to the Planet to get her interview tapes and I'm walking home to our small but cozy apartment after a nice dinner. Not drinking excessively, that I recall. So it only stands to reason that I wake up in an apparently nice apartment in downtown Metropolis feeling like I've lost years I don't remembering gaining!"

By the end of her statement to the air, Lois found herself nearer to a growl than simply speaking. Pounding a hand down on the railing in front of her seemed a great idea right about now to let off some steam, but doing so might alert whoever was around. The steam would have to stay exactly where it was for now.

Doing her best to reign in a temper that was trying its best to misbehave, she took a few deep breaths to calm herself and slow her heart rate a bit. 'Sneaky, not noisy,' she thought. She went back inside the room, closing the door behind her quietly and headed back to the closet, hoping to find a pair of shoes she could use for running. With all the suits, though, she figured there probably wouldn't be anything without some sort of heel.

Lois found nothing with a big heaping side of nothing on the side in the closet and the rest of the bedroom. She couldn't even find a stray sneaker hiding under the bed among the dust bunnies that weren't there. She searched the closet one last time and finally resigned herself to the flattest dress shoe there was. She pulled off the tee and put on one of the blouses. If she needed to disappear in a crowd, it'd be a lot harder to follow somebody that blended in with the business crowds on the street. Hopefully, she could at least get to the street.

Taking a moment to try and grasp all that was happening, Lois leaned her head up against the door jamb and rubbed a bit of the tenseness out of her neck. Loose and ready was a lot better than tense. She needed to stop thinking of the problem and start thinking of the solution. She was roughly a decade older than she remembered, and not far from the heart of downtown Metropolis. Everything else was unknown, which was not good. Too many things could go wrong. Hell, too many things had gone wrong already.

'Solutions, Lane! Not the problems, the solutions!' Limited options and limitless possibilities. It was time to stop acting the victim and make some folks regret whatever it was that could be going on. She marched over to the one door she hadn't used and flung it open, continuing her march into a nice looking living room.

"Okay, I don't know what the hell is going on or who the hell thinks they can do this to Lois Lane, but I am pissed and want some... answers?"

Lois glanced off to her left where something had been caught in her peripheral vision and found herself staring into a small pair of green eyes belonging to a little girl looking up at her from a perch in the middle of a couch. Her face was framed by wavy black hair that fell down and framed her face as it made its way slightly past her shoulder blades. She had a bright smile the Lois would swear belonged to somebody she knew. "Morning, mommy."

That was probably why.


	2. Chapter 2

----Chapter 2

Lois looked around a second then back at the little girl. "Sorry kid, I think I misheard. Did you just call me mommy?"

The girl just kept on smiling the familiar smile at her. "Of course I called you mommy. I always call you mommy, because that's your name!"

Lois ran a hand through her hair as her previously confused mind skipped away for what Lois thought might be a permanent hiatus from rational thought. "What, uh, what do you mean that's my name? I've been called a lot of names in my time, mostly Lois and bit... big silly." That seemed kid friendly. "Mommy certainly isn't anything I've been called before."

The little girl just giggled as she scratched at her knee. "Mommy, you're a big silly." Great, she'd given her ammunition. "I always call you mommy. Daddy likes to call you Lo, but you're name is mommy." The kid made it sound as thought it was the most logical thing to come along since one and one equaled two.

"So... so if my name is mommy, then what's your name?" Lois hoped she sounded calm, because taking a flying leap off the balcony was feeling more and more like a sensible plan.

The little girl nearly fell over in a fit of giggles. Chloe had been like this when they'd been younger; maybe there was just some monumental mix up here. The girl recovered to get a sentence out. "My name is Jordan. You're mommy and daddy is daddy!"

Lois saw the girls eyes dart away from her, and found that there was some background noise. Apparently, the girl, Jordan, had been watching television. By the sounds of it, some classic Warner Brothers cartoons.

Lois found standing to be a whole lot more effort than she was currently capable of, so she went and sat down on the couch. Sense had ceased to be. Logic was something of consequence no longer, and hell had apparently been buried in fourteen layers of ice, because it would have had to been frozen that may times for any of this to have happened. A girl claiming to be her daughter, for God's sakes, and for that to have actually happened all of the end of the world, lack of sense and logic theories would have needed to take place.

Lois felt her right arm get lifted up by a small pair of hands and Jordan scooted herself closer to her. The little girl let the arm fall as she hugged herself to Lois' side, watching t.v. contentedly. It surprised her at how such a simple act could make her mind calm down. All the doomsday thoughts cleared out as the little girl wanted to feel safe. Lois found herself wanting safety for the little girl too.

Quickly, the calm was gone and her mind went into overdrive. This wasn't just about her anymore. She could hurt Jordan's feelings, scar her mind even if she pushed her away and told her that she wasn't really her mommy. She could slip up and say that wrong thing, do something the wrong way or even get her sick if she sneezed or coughed on her by mistake. She very quickly remembered why it would take a loss of sense and logic for her to have a kid: no child should have to deal with her for a mother.

"Mommy, why aren't you watching the cartoons? You love watching Bugs mess with Elmer Fudd."

Lois realized she been staring wide-eyed at a wall, not focusing on anything except on how she could invariably screw up this innocent victim next to her. "I'm just doing some thinking kid... kid... kiddo. I've had a crazy morning and just have about forty three thoughts going through my head when it can handle about seven." She ran a hand across Jordan's head a couple times, smoothing her hair. She hoped it was something the girl liked.

Jordan let go of Lois and popped off the couch. She looked Lois dead in the eye before speaking. "I'm going to the bathroom," she announced, and took off towards a section of the apartment Lois had yet to explore.

She barely noticed, though as another shockwave hit her. The little girl had her eyes.

When Jordan had looked her in the eyes, she felt like she was staring into a mirror, or at least a mirror that was only big enough to show eyes.. They were exactly the same shape and color. They were _her_ eyes; the girl had gotten her eyes from her. 'No, has to be another explanation, even if the smile was unsettling familiar and annoyingly unidentified,' she thought.

Given the opportunity of having the main area of the apartment to herself, Lois decided there was no time like the present for an inspection of her surroundings. There wasn't a lot of color to the place, which had pale yellow walls and furniture that seemed to be some derivation of red or blue.

She was still scanning the room when she spotted a newspaper lying on the dining room table. She sprang across the apartment to it hoping to find that it was still 2008 and this was all just a giant hoax with somebody stupid enough to leave his paper in this sham of an apartment.

November 13th, 2021.

Thirteen years. She'd missed thirteen years. All those years of her life, gone in a flash of sleeping darkness. Lois slumped down into one of the chairs surrounding the table and let her head thump on the wooden surface. There were so many questions running through her head that she couldn't begin to form a coherent though. It would have just been a jumble of questions instead. Of course, she was possibly thirteen years in the future, so maybe people spoke fluent mumble now, who knew.

She'd had some demented version of a lobotomy. That had to be it. The only thing she could comprehend was that her mind was from 2008 and the rest of her was from 2021, which made so little sense that it fell in line with the fact that she was with a young girl claiming to be her daughter. A daughter with a carbon copy of her eyes and a smile she couldn't place, which was really bugging the bejesus out of her.

Lifting her head off the table, she felt her forehead to check for a fever. She pulled it away quickly when she felt something cool and metallic make contact with her head. Looking at her hand, she found a pair of rings; one of them was a simple gold band, the other platinum adorned with diamonds on the top. Wedding and engagement rings, respectively. Perfect.

That's when she spotted it out of the corner of her eye. Her savior from this madness. The greatness that would save her from losing what few marbles she had left.

Coffee.

Lois stood up and rushed over to the machine that had a coffee pot at its bottom. The contraption only somewhat resembled what she knew to be a coffee maker, but she would find a way to make the thing work. She'd served coffee for like a year, so she could make the damn thing work!

She started messing with it and pushing buttons when she felt a small tug at her shirt. She glanced down to see Jordan looking up at her before she went back to fiddling with the machine. "What are you doing, mommy?"

"Trying to make some coffee. I really, really need some right now."

"But, I thought you weren't allowed to have coffee anymore. You said so."

Lois did her best not to scowl down at the little girl. "Why would I say something so inane like I couldn't drink coffee?" She didn't add that such a statement makes as little sense as her day had.

"You said no more coffee until you had the new baby."

Lois had to work her jaw a few times before she found the ability to speak. She closed her eyes as she spoke. "What new baby?"

She opened her eyes to find a confused looking Jordan, but that quickly became a smiling Jordan again. "The one in your tummy. You and daddy said that the new baby was going to make things change. That's when daddy said 'Like no more coffee for mommy because she does things all or nothing.' Then you looked at him like you look at me when I do something I'm not supposed to do."

Well, that sounded more or less truthful. Anybody that tried to separate her from her coffee would get a strong glare, if not an outright beating. "Right, that new baby."

Here she was in the future, talking to her future daughter and according to said daughter pregnant with another future child. So hot it's cold, so wrong it's right, so unbelievable that it may actually be true, she mused.

Lois ran a hand over her stomach a couple times without thinking about it before she felt another tug at her shirt. "What are you doing, mommy?"

"Just thinking about my life, kiddo. Guess I'm not being much fun."

"Wanna watch more cartoons with me?"

"Yeah, sure," Lois replied absently. Jordan grabbed her hand and guided her to the couch, where Lois allowed herself a few moments to zone out and not think. The mental peace was grand, but not lasting. She looked down at Jordan and realized she had so many questions about the little girl that she hadn't yet asked. She'd been too distracted by the when to ask about the who.

"Jordan, how old are you?"

The little girl was entranced by the television but managed to hold up three fingers to Lois. "This may sound like an odd question, but what's your daddy's name?"

"Daddy."

Lois couldn't tell if that was a three year old being three or the beginnings of a long life of sarcastic retorts. "Ok, what do _I_ usually call daddy?"

"You call him daddy, too." Lois cursed her genes. If this girl really was her daughter she appeared to be just as difficult as the General claimed Lois had been before her mom had died. That thought paired with a girl claiming her as a parent made her shudder slightly. She decided to take this a different direction and determine if this girl really was hers.

"What do I call your father when I'm talking to him and you're probably not supposed to be listening but really are?"

Jordan scratched her arm and looked up at Lois with a smaller smile than she had previously been wearing. She spoke quietly, apparently knowing she'd been caught. "Smallville."


	3. Chapter 3

----Chapter 3

"Small... sma... small... SMALLVILLE?" Jordan didn't really register the shock in Lois' voice and continued. "You almost always call him Smallville when you don't think I'm listening, and call him Clark, too. You called him Clarkie once and then he said something about a sailor, then you had me go play in my room. That was before my birthday last summer."

Lois barely registered that Jordan was still speaking, too shocked by the fact that she and Clark had never killed each other, let alone ended up together. A future with him, kids with him, anything with him had never even been something she could have fathomed making it onto her mental radar, let alone coming to fruition.

She lowered her head into her hands, reminding herself to breathe. Running out of air wouldn't do her any good at this point, though it would certainly alleviate the mental breakdown if it lasted long enough for her to pass out.

She couldn't figure it out, though. For Christ's sake, had the world run out of acceptable men? Sure, he was easy on the eyes, but he was the biggest mope to ever mope when he got down, which was a majority of the time.

He really had so much going for him, and instead he acted like the weight of the world and then some was on his shoulders. It annoyed her so much that she wanted to scream and take him by the shoulders so she could shake the 'woe is me' attitude out of him.

Her and Smallville... so many how's were involved that it made her head hurt. She took a moment to distance herself from questions and looked down at Jordan, suddenly realizing why the girl's grin looked so familiar. It was his. That huge, toothy Clark Kent grin. And not only the grin, but the nose, the hair and even the ears resembled his. But those were her eyes, and the poor kid was probably stuck with her personality. The burden of possibly being her daughter. She thought about that for a moment before another thought popped into her head.

"Jordan, you said you're three. Are you sure? You speak very well for three. Actually, beyond well for that age, at least from my somewhat limited experience."

"You and daddy always say that I'm special." Sounded like Clark. Guess he rubbed off on her, which taken another way was probably how she'd ended up with Jordan and an embryo. 'Focus, Lane,' she thought.

"Special, huh? Do we refer to anything specific, or do we just call you our special little girl?"

"I'm special because I'm something that came from love. Daddy likes to tell me that." Jordan moved over and threw her arms around Lois' waist, hugging her for what felt like all she was worth. Kid certainly had some power in her small arms. Lois hugged her back halfheartedly and hoped that Jordan stayed this happy while she shattered her world by not knowing who she was.

Jordan focused on the television again, but didn't stop hugging Lois as she watched. Lois ran a hand along the girl's back, hoping she could convey some sense of normalcy. She heard a clicking sound off to her left and looked back, finding the door opening. A large man backed into the apartment, holding a few bags of groceries. He turned around, glasses adorning his face, hair cut shorter than she remembered it. "Clark," she whispered.

He smiled at the sight of Lois and Jordan on the couch. "Morning Lo. Heya sweetheart, how's it going? Do all right while I was gone?"

Jordan nodded and smiled. "Hi, daddy."

Lois was surprised at how little he'd changed but how different he looked. Aside from not wearing plaid and his hair, he hadn't really aged in eleven years. The glasses were new, but maybe his eyes had gone south on him.

What really stood out, she thought, was the way he carried himself. He didn't seemed burdened anymore. He seemed laid back, almost quietly confident. Lois thought her eyes must have taken a turn with the years as well.

He set down the bags he was carrying on the dining room table and walked over to Lois, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. She looked back at him as she felt one of his hands on her shoulder. "How are you feeling today?"

Lois was glad she didn't have to lie. "It's been a morning I won't soon forget. Probably." Clark looked at her, appearing puzzled. She decided to rephrase. "Sorry. Just saying I've had better mornings."

He shrugged, apparently satisfied with her response. He broke out into a grin and ran his hand up and down her arm. "I'd give you some words of encouragement, but last time I tried that you just about took my head off."

He winked at her, his grin never faltering as he retracted his arm and went back over to the kitchen table and started to unload the food he'd bought. "I thought we could use a nice breakfast this morning, but we lacked a few of the ingredients. That, paired with you sleeping until at least 10:30, which is when I left, has brought us to a nice lunch. I was thinking chicken since it would be easy on your stomach, even though you've been ok for the past week. Better safe than sorry."

Lois eased Jordan off of her, stood and walked over to Clark. "Smallville, can we, uh, talk in the other room?"

"Yeah, sure thing. Give me a second to finish unpacking this stuff." He pulled out the last couple objects, a bag of apples and some bananas, and placed them on the counter. Pausing a second, he turned around to face her. "Good enough." He looked over to Jordan, who was still entranced by the television. "You good, girlie?" She gave him a thumbs up to which he gave a quick nod and took off towards the bedroom Lois had stumbled out of earlier.

She followed him, trying to figure out what exactly she was going to tell him. 'Hey, remember me in 2008? No? That's too bad because that's who I am!' Barely paying attention, Lois stubbed her toe on the door jamb as she entered the room and nearly yelped in pain, biting it back because she was afraid it would be followed by a few choice words Jordan didn't need to know.

When Lois finally got herself into the room, she closed the door and looked over to Clark. He'd removed his glasses and placed them on a night stand on the side of the bed she hadn't been to. He looked a little more like she remembered him without the glasses. He was still smiling at her, but the way he was looking at her was slightly different than it had been before. "So," he said, "you wanted to _talk_?"

The way he'd pronounced talk, it was quickly apparent to Lois that when they usually left Jordan to talk, there may be noise but not a whole lot of words. She decided to head things off at the pass. "Yes, and I actually want to talk, Smallville. No time and definitely no mind set for a romp in the sack. See, things are wrong. So many things are wrong and I don't know how they got to be wrong, but they are really, really wrong."

Clark stood up off the bed and walked over to her, clearly confused. "You look like you're about to break down. Take a deep breath and relax, Lo." Guiding her to the bed, he put an arm around her shoulders. They sat down, Lois staring at the floor. She felt horrible for having to shatter his world, but what was she supposed to do, pretend? "What's really, really wrong?"

"Clark, I don't remember the last thirteen years. I saw the newspaper out there, or at least the date, and I don't remember anything since 2008. Not finishing my education, not making my mark at the Planet, not us, not Jordan and certainly no unborn baby that I'm apparently giving safe passage for a while."

Lois stopped to gulp some air, her words feeling like they were all running together in one long sentence. She continued in what she hoped was a calmer voice. "I'm sorry if I'm tearing your world apart, but lost doesn't even begin to explain how I feel and I really need your help to figure things out."

Lois finally looked up at Clark's face. It was as near to blank as she'd ever seen it. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Damn." She watched him stare into space a second before he looked at her. "Well, believe it or not, my world is ok. I guess it was silly of me to hope that you could go through this pregnancy without it happening when it happened with Jordan. Heck, we talked about ita couple times and I was still holding onto a shred of hope."

Lois looked at him a second. "Huh?"

Clark let himself fall backwards onto the bed. "This isn't the first time you've lost your memory, Lois. No, if I recall, this is the fourth."

She rubbed at her temples a second, processing what he said. "You mean I'm chronically forgetful in a 'who needs the last few years' kinda way?"

Clark grimaced as she watched him sit up. "That's one way of putting it. It's more complicated than that, of course, but yes, you do tend to have memory loss on a larger scale than most people."

She didn't get to remember things. Nothing. It wasn't just a one time deal; she was always like this. That wasn't right, and did a very good job of making her angry.

"So let me get this straight, Smallville: we're together. We have a daughter and one on the way. I lose my memory at indeterminate times, especially when I'm pregnant," she scoffed. "Total reset from June 2008." At his nod, Lois felt ready to explode. It felt like what walls she had left to hold back her anger was gone.

"Are you fucking kidding me? This has got to be the dumbest damn thing I've ever heard in my entire life! There's no way in the world that this could work! It just couldn't! Seriously, I wake up and it's been thirteen years? I have a daughter? With YOU of all people? This has got to be a scam. I'm calling bullshit on all of this!

"A good makeup job on me and you, a kid that resembles you and has eyes like mine can be done without us actually _making_ her. Hell, I bet you're being blackmailed into this. It'd explain why you've barely aged, and I bet the glasses are just fakes you're wearing to throw me off. Or hell, maybe you just had another bout of amnesia and fell into the hands of somebody that wanted to see me utterly confused. Whatever it is, I'm onto to it and I... I..."

Lois felt her stomach suddenly do a somersault before moving on to doing giant flips. She took a quick look around, spotted the bathroom and ran into it, getting her head over the toilet before her stomach took its revenge on her for something she'd done to it recently. Whatever it was, she didn't think she deserved this.

After a moment she felt a hand grab her hair and pull it back. She caught a glimpse of Clark kneeling beside her and felt him run a hand over her back before she got back to stomach dictated business she had with the porcelain.

She couldn't tell how long she'd been in the bathroom, but when it was over and Lois thought she may have missed another thirteen years or so. She found it had been about fifteen minutes when she could finally walk away from the bathroom. Fifteen more minutes she'd gone not knowing what the hell was actually going on, and she marveled at the fact that they'd actually been less enjoyable than the previous moments of not knowing. She sat down on the bed and let her face sink into her hands a moment before speaking.

"Smallville, please tell me that I just ate something exotic last night that didn't agree with me. I don't know that I can handle morning sickness being the cause of that. Truthfully, I don't know that I can handle much of anything right now. It's too much."

Clark sat down next to her and took one of her hands into his, giving it a gentle but firm squeeze. "Let's go sit with Jordan, Lo. She's always had a calming effect on you."

Instead of arguing against Jordan being hers and the fact that someone she didn't know would have a difficult time being calming, Lois simply nodded and allowed herself to be guided back to the couch. Jordan was sitting in the middle of it now, watching some live action kids show. She sat down on the little girl's left and felt Jordan's head immediately make its way to her lap while Clark sat down on her right and had Jordan's feet put in his lap.

She could almost see it, the happy family they'd apparently made, but the feeling of family that she knew Clark and Jordan had was absent. It just wasn't there, along with everything else that had gone AWOL and made her day hell. She sighed and laid her head back against the couch, closing her eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

----Chapter 4

They sat on the couch for a little while, Lois letting her mind run rampant with all the possibilities. Jordan brought up the fact that she was hungry after a few more cartoons so she and Clark got up and went into the kitchen. The nice lunch Clark had planned apparently forgotten, he made Jordan a sandwich without crust and put a small pile of chips on the plate for her.

Lois saw him go back to the pantry, grab some saltines and fill up a glass of water. He came and put them on the coffee table in front of her. He knelt down and offered a small smile. "I think you'll feel a little better with something in your stomach. Crackers have always been pretty harmless."

"Thank you."

He walked back to tend to Jordan and she downed a few crackers. Not much on taste, but it did feel good to have something in her stomach. She just hoped that it stayed in her stomach. The last thing she needed now was a repeat performance of her earlier duet with the toilet, especially since it only seemed to have the one note at the end.

About an hour after she'd eaten, Jordan starting yawning like it was going out of style, so Clark took her and put her down for a nap. Lois was still nursing her glass of water when Clark came back and sat down on the couch with her. He put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. "How are you feeling?"

Lois thought she may have fifteen one word answers to that. "I feel like everything is completely out of control. I'm annoyed that it's 2021 when it feels like 2008. I'm confused because I see Jordan, and I see your features and even my eyes on her yet I feel no connection. It's why I'm having a hard time grasping that this isn't a fake out. Wouldn't... shouldn't a mother feel connected to her child?"

Clark put an arm around her shoulder and hugged her to his body. "Lo, you can't feel bad about not feeling a connection after knowing the girl for about two hours. What, are you supposed to see her and instantly feel love when you have no idea who she is? When you find out who she actually is, are you supposed to say 'Let me love you unconditionally?' I can only imagine, probably poorly, how you feel, but I don't expect you to just accept this. You never have, no matter that circumstance you wake up to."

"But you always hear these stories of mothers knowing their children. For God's sake, you're adopted but I remember Mrs. Kent telling me the moment she saw you, she saw her son. She just knew. I see Jordan and I feel like I'm seeing a kid that acts kind of like me and has disturbingly familiar eyes, but that's it. No connection, no innate feeling."

Lois looked at Clark, who didn't answer right away. He rubbed a hand across her back and then spoke. "Lois, how often do you accept something without some form of proof?"

"Rarely, but still..."

"No, there is no _still_ involved here. I don't expect you to change how you view things because you wake up and find out you have a daughter. That's not who you are."

Lois sighed. He was right, but she didn't have to like it. "Kind of you as it is to try and make me feel better, Smallville, nothing about this day is right. 2021? Are you kidding me? As I was trying to say earlier before my insides decided I'd said enough, I'm going to find out what the hell happened. For all I know I could have time traveled in my sleep. No proof, no knowledge."

Lois paused as she saw Clark smiling to himself. "Reveling in my dismay, Smallville, or just remembering a funny joke?"

He gave her another sheepish look. "No, nothing like that. It's just that every time you lose your memory, you end up giving me the same speech, or at least a very similar one. How you get to it always differs, but you always seems to end up saying something about time traveling in your sleep and without proof, there's no knowledge. It's almost like I relive each of your day after speeches."

She glared at him, to which he held up his hands defensively. "Not that I'm enjoying any of this. I knew what I was getting into when we fell in love. Or, well, when you finally got around to loving me." Off her look, he waved a hand at her. "Numerous stories for later. Anyway, it can be frustrating and more often than not untimely, but I don't regret one second of it. If you'll excuse the joke, the good outweighs the bad more and more whenever your pregnant."

Lois rolled her eyes at his joke. "Funny. I'm surprised you're not off brooding about how everything has gone so sideways. It almost makes me more suspicious, the non-broodiness you seem to have embraced."

Clark laughed. "Like I said, Lo, I knew what I was getting into. I've had some experiences that changed how I viewed things. I'm happy to say I've been brood free for about twelve years now. I will admit to getting close a couple times, though."

"What happened thirteen years ago?"

"Ah, well, we can get to that later as well. Right now, I'm thinking you'd like to hear what happened to cause your memory loss. Or at least my knowledge on it, assuming you'll believe me without any proof but my word."

She just nodded at him, and he started to speak.

"You were doing a piece that was... boring. I don't remember how you ended up with it. Anyway, you told Chloe that you saw Lex and known mob bosses meeting behind the same place you were doing your interview. Needless to say, you found a way to record their conversation. A very incriminating conversation.

"You found the guns they were moving with Chloe and I, wrote up an article, and after some editing and formatting help from Chloe, presented it to the Daily Planet's editor, along with your research and the tape. They printed the article, and suddenly you were one of the big guns. On a side note, this was around the time the new editor got you to finish your education with a major in journalism at Met U, which you were already doing, of course.

"After a couple months, she promoted you and Chloe at the same time and made you two partners, as you'd broken a couple stories together by that point. How am I doing so far?"

She knew that he'd known most of this anyway, but knowing about the story she'd sworn to take to her grave was slightly disturbing. " Um, so far you're right on target, Smallville. Please tell me more of the things I actually remember."

It was Clark's turn to roll his eyes. "It was about a week later when you were attacked the first time. We were at the apartment you and Chloe shared and the door was kicked in, which I always thought was bad practice for somebody wanting to kill you. Anyway, you had a gun pulled on you and if I hadn't been there, you'd have probably ended up shot."

"I told you then and I'll tell you again now, Smallville, I could have handled that. I'd have kicked the guy's ass, no problem."

"Be that as it may, it failed. The next attack didn't."

Clark rubbed a hand over his face. Lois could see how much the memories pained him. She was tempted to tell him to stop, but she wanted to know. She needed to know what had happened, assuming it was true.

"It was three days after the first attack. You were walking home from having dinner at some Italian bistro a few blocks from your apartment. Chloe remembered some tapes she'd left at the Planet and grabbed a cab. You assured her you'd be fine walking on your own.

"You were about five minutes from your building when you were pulled into an alley. I don't know what actually happened or how many guys there were, but you were beaten so badly that when Chloe was called to the hospital, she barely recognized you. You were lucky that somebody found you and called for an ambulance or else you'd have probably ended up bleeding to death."

Beaten within an inch of her life. Lois sighed, but got curious. "Smallville, if I was so badly beaten, where are all the scars? I've seen myself and I'm not visibly scarred, which is odd not only because of this supposed beating but because I had plenty of scars before that."

Clark had gotten up and poured himself a glass of apple juice. "Though things may not look much different since 2008 in here, the medical field has grown by leaps and bounds in numerous fields. They've developed technology to restore skin from scarring, tattooing and even cancer."

"So all my scars are gone like that? I liked a few of them! They were war wounds, so to speak."

Clark looked apologetic. "When the technology became available, you debated removing the scarring from the attack removed because you looked pretty rough. The scars on your face were intense, and you didn't want to have to explain the attack to Jordan until she was old enough to understand. The doctor thought they were all attack related, though, and got rid of everything he could find."

"Well that sucks!"

"Jordan was only just born and you didn't want her getting made fun of by other kids when she was older, so you made the decision pretty quickly. Had we known then what we do now, we probably just would have gotten rid of the scars on your face."

Lois glared at him. "That doesn't do me a whole lotta good at this point, Smallville."

Clark shrugged and continued on with his story. "So, you were comatose for over six months. Chloe and I were there every day, and my mom was there as often as she could be, which was usually four or five times each week..."

---

"_I... I know I don't say this often, and there's a good reason. Were I to say it, you'd probably smirk, make a sarcastic comment and walk away. But I want you to know that I think we make a good team. Not a team in the traditional sense of working side by side as a well oiled machine, but more in that television sense where you have the sarcastic one, you, the straight man, me, and the brains in the middle of it all, Chloe. Not that you and I don't have brains, but just a lack of focus when around each other._

"_Of course, you'd protest anything that labeled us as a team in any form or fashion. That doesn't mean the term doesn't fit, though. We figure things out together and make sure bad things don't happen whenever we can. As far as I can tell, that makes us a team. I was thinking of the name Kent-Lane-Sullivan for the team. Complain all you want, but it's only fair that we do the team name alphabetically. And aside from that whole fairness thing, I'm taking naming rights on this one. I think after all the snark I've taken from you, I deserve a little victory. Were I to leave it to you, it would be the 'Chlo-Lo Connection, with sidekick Farm boy!'"_

_Clark rubbed the back of his neck a moment before running a hand through his hair, making it look wilder than it really was. "I think I got off topic there for a second. You see what happens when I'm around you? Anyway, I was asking you to do something for me. Yes, Clark Kent asking a favor of Lois Lane. Please hold your shock until the end of the talk." Clark smiled for a moment before he stood from the chair he'd been in and went to stand beside her. _

"_You don't show it, and you'd never voice it, but you'll do anything for friends and family. You feel that they are the one's that need you the most; to be strong, in control and able to handle whatever life can possibly bring at you. So, I ask this of you because I think we're close enough that you'd do this small task for me. Ok, opposite of small task. More like big task with a lot of toughness involved. I know, though, that you excel at difficult tasks, and that's why I feel confident that you won't let me down._

"_I need you to wake up, Lois. I need you to beat this. Two out of three in our team isn't good enough for me. Besides, I'm not great with the radical changes in life. Gradual change over time, that happens. Radical, life-altering changes are things I can live without. You not being here with me, with Chloe, with mom... that's the kind of change I don't like. Granted, things I don't like tend to entice you, but I think you'll want to work with me on this one._

"_I want you to do this for me. And if not for me, do it for Chloe. You're the big sister she never had and I know you don't want to be another Lane woman that leaves this world before her time. Hell, I'd have put money on you being the Lane that lived to a ripe old age, with Chloe right behind you, even if she doesn't technically have Lane genes. Well, she might. You two never told me just which parents you're related through."_

_Clark took a couple deep breaths, steadying his voice before speaking again. He didn't want Lois making fun of him getting all shaky if, no when, she eventually woke up._

"_Anyway, I challenge you, Lois Lane. I challenge you to win this fight and show the world you're not going to be ushered out of life before you're damn well ready. Show the world that nothing, absolutely nothing is going to make you submit to its will."_

_Tuning out the rhythmic hiss of the breathing machine Lois had been hooked up to, Clark bent down and placed a very light kiss on Lois's forehead, careful to avoid any of the most battered places. Had she not been so close to death, he would have marveled at just how peaceful she looked. For all intents and purposes, it appeared that she could just be taking a very long and intrusive nap. Clark couldn't imagine a look he wanted to see on her face any less. He'd gladly stay in a room with kryptonite walls for as long as he needed to if it would wake her up and allow a smile to form on her lips. Hopefully somewhere in her mind, Lois could feel just how much he cared for her, and would know she wasn't alone._

"_Mom will be by later this evening, and I think you'll be getting an evening visit from Chloe as well. It'll be the last evening she gets off for a while, probably, but she'll be by every morning between classes just like usual, and probably any day that she doesn't have or doesn't want to go to class. I'll be back tomorrow, same time, same place. Think about my challenge if you don't have anything else to do. And hey, if you want to go ahead and beat it, I think I can live with that. I'd hate to see you do something silly like failing now. It's just wouldn't be you."_

_Clark smiled as he held her hand a moment, then walked around her hospital bed and left her room. He moved down the hall slowly, hands shoved in his pockets until he came to the elevator, waiting a moment before entering the empty metal box. He dropped his eyes to the floor and rubbed lightly at an eye that wasn't doing him any favors by trying to shed a tear. He watched the doors begin to close, another day closing itself on her chance to wake up. It was all he could do not to break down where he stood._

---

"Your father came, of course. He was there every day for the first month, then took off to track down Lucy and bring her back to Metropolis so she could see you. Not one last time, of course. Sam never entertained the notion you'd die. Something about Lane's never taking the easy way out."

Lois smiled. "He's never said anything more true." She stretched a second before speaking again. "So, did he find Lucy?"

"It took him a few weeks, but he showed up out of the blue one day with your sister in tow, ushering her into the room. She sat by your bed and was as close to tears as I'd seen any Lane woman since you'd cried at Chloe's fake grave."

"Hey, you better not be saying that I've cried since then, because I don't cry."

Clark smiled and patted her knee. "I think you shedding a couple tears when Jordan was born is acceptable even for you, Lo."


	5. Chapter 5

----Chapter 5

Lois eyed Clark with a cocked eyebrow and a made a circling motion with her hand to get him to continue his story.

"So, six months go by and you show no signs of improvement. By this time, your father had been given an overseas assignment and been forced to leave. Lucy went with him. Mom and Chloe had both offered to give her a bed to sleep in, but she said she wanted to spend time with your father. I guess seeing you in the hospital scared her."

"So all it took for me to get through to her was being comatose? Would have done that years ago had I known."

"Scared straight, I guess. Anyway, after the doctors told us it was a their conclusion that you were never going to wake up and recommended letting you go in peace, you woke up. Flair for the dramatic, I maintain."

Lois opened her mouth to interrupt him with the real reason, but he continued on. "Your quote not long after waking up was 'Not a flair for the dramatic, Smallville. Just thought you had gone long enough without somebody making sure you didn't do anything stupid.' And you were just about to say that any longer than six months and I'd have been completely lost and would need you."

Lois eyes went wide as he said exactly what she was going to say. That didn't make her feel any better about everything. Seriously, who needed a guy that could talk for you? She was going to have to work on her original thoughts. She downed the rest of her water and watched as Clark did the same and took her glass from her. He filled up their glasses from the tap before starting again.

"To say you were angry would be doing your rage a disservice. There wasn't, and still isn't, a word to cover how mad you were at what had happened. The last thing you remembered then, and I'd say the last thing you remember now is saying bye to Chloe as she closed the cab door and starting to walk home, but not actually how far you got before the attack." Lois nodded as he sat back down, placing her glass in front of her.

"Chloe was inconsolable for weeks after it happened. She blamed herself and was convinced that nothing would have happened if she'd have been there. I think she still blames herself, at least a little, to this day."

"Oh come on," Lois moaned. "How could she have possibly made any difference? She'd have just ended up bloody and brain damaged like I supposedly am, if not dead!"

"I know, I know. She just had a hard time dealing with it, so about a week after your attack she wrote an article as an outlet for her anger, sadness and misplaced guilt because it was what she knew how to do. She never intended for it to be published, let alone seen, but I found it on her laptop one day, read it, and just about broke down. Chloe had never written something so beautiful. It was a tribute to you, but at the same time it was a scathing review of Metropolis and its growing inability to deal with crime.

"I thought it a travesty that nobody would ever see the truth in her words, so I printed a copy and took it to her editor." She gawked at him, and he nodded. "Yes, I too am surprised Chloe didn't cause me bodily harm. But, it was loved because it captured what the city was beginning to lack: heart. The article - well, it was more of an editorial, really - but anyway it got printed and Chloe was actually nominated for a Kerth award as a result. One of the youngest nominees in Kerth history."

Lois smiled and ate another cracker. "That's my girl," she said softly.

"Indeed," Clark responded. "More to this little Chloe tangent, though. As a result of her article and nomination, Chloe was pretty well known in the local journalism world. When the Planet scored an exclusive with Bruce Wayne soon after, the billionaire from Gotham you never bothered to tell us you knew, he requested that Chloe do the interview."

Lois was shocked. "Chloe met Bruce?"

"Hold that thought. Bruce didn't know what to expect out of Chloe, but he's said that he felt like he'd been pummeled by a tiny blonde 2x4 after the interview was over. He was fascinated by such a, and I quote, 'intriguing, ferocious and brilliant woman.' They started spending more time together, out of the public eye, and to make a long story less long, he's now your cousin-in-law."

Lois gawked at Clark again. Chloe and Bruce? Together? "But... how... what? Chloe and Bruce got married?"

"Yeah, those two together took us all by surprise. I always knew Chloe was good at keeping secrets when she wanted to because she's kept mine for... sixteen years now. Wow, has it really been that long..."

Clark trailed off, lost in thought. Lois snapped her fingers in front of his face to make him aware of what was going on again. He grinned at her sheepishly. "Sorry, doesn't seem like it's been that long since we were all in Smallville, does it?"

Lois stared at him flatly for a moment until he got her meaning. He winced as he answered. "Right, sorry. Seems I always do that once when you forget. Anyway, like I was saying, Chloe and Bruce kept their relationship secret for about a year. When they met again a day after the interview at the hospital and bonded over sadness, it led to the spending more time together I told you about.

"Bruce had actually come to Metropolis to offer your dad specialists and to cover all your medical costs before he agreed to the interview with the Planet, which is kind of what tipped us off about you two knowing each other. But that's not the point. The point is, they fell for each other hard. They got married September 14th, 2013, and had their son Jack in February 2014." He knew Lois wanted to interrupt and held up a hand so he could finish. "They also had twins in late 2017. Girls, Aly and Liz."

"I can't believe it. Chloe and Bruce with three kids. Hell, I can barely believe Chloe and Bruce!" Lois shook her head and looked to Clark, who was smiling like he had something else to say. "Out with it, Smallville. You look like you're about to burst."

Clark winked at her before continuing. "As it just so happens, you and Chloe are in a race of sorts. Since it's you two, of course it's a type of race few people bother to try. Guesses?"

Lois thought about it a moment before her eyes went wide when the answer dawned on her. "Chloe's pregnant?"

"The lady wins a prize." Clark picked up a cracker off the table and handed it to her. "Congratulations." She rolled her eyes and took a bite as he continued.

"As chance would have it, you and Chloe conceived at more or less the same time in August. While your pregnancy is because of a quick discussion, Chloe and Bruce were actively trying for theirs. It was something about wanting to even things out for Jack, who seems to be outnumbered two to one as you may have noted. I think Chloe just loves her babies more than she ever thought she could."

"Four kids... good lord, I never even thought Bruce would find a girl that could deal with his personality. Is he still as dark and, well, broody as he used to be?" Clark was about to answer her when Lois snapped her fingers. "That's why she could fall in love with him so easily! She pined over you and your brooding butt for all those years and she found a guy that not only brooded more often than you did, but he actually had it down to an art form!"

Clark rolled his eyes and continued. "My previously brooding butt aside, Bruce still has his dark moments, especially when he's having a tough time as Batman. Chlo keeps him grounded, though, as well as their kids."

That took Lois unawares. She was really surprised Bruce had let him know that. "You know he's Batman?"

She watched him shake his head and poke himself in the forehead a couple times. "Uh, Bruce let Chloe tell me that he's Batman. I think she felt bad keeping such a big secret from me, and you already knew."

"Bruce was broody and he was a hero. You two have a lot in common, though you always played the hero and weren't really ever one, so to speak. I can see why Chlo is with him. Makes perfect sense."

Lois noticed Clark shifting in his seat when she said it, but let it go as he spoke. "Anytime he starts falling too deep into the darkness, Chloe can pull him out. Gradually, sometimes, but it happens less often now because of the family he and Chloe have made together. She has admitted to using sex to get him to come out of the darkness. I think that's why their twins were born, really, even if they had been trying for a while."

Lois barked out a laugh. "So, what? Every time Chloe thinks Bruce is getting too dark she's going to have as much sex with him as she can and end up pregnant? Good way to end up with ten or eleven kids, knowing Bruce."

Clark took another sip of water before continuing. "Like I said, Bruce has mellowed out in the darkness area a bit. He'll always be haunted by his parents death, but it's not as intense as it used to be. And I'm fairly certain that Chloe has proclaimed this one their last baby. Of course, if it's another girl, who knows how many they may end up with."

"So, who's winning the race?"

"Like you even have to ask. You found out a day before Chloe did that you were pregnant, and have therefore claimed you're in the lead, though your due dates may as well be the same day."

For the first time that day, Lois smiled and felt like the world wasn't crushing in on her. It was a pleasant moment. "So Smallville, what are you hoping for? Boy?"

"To embrace the cliché, I hope for healthy. I will love this baby no matter what."

Lois smiled and looked down at the ground. Chloe married to Bruce and having a family in Gotham seemed something she couldn't dream up if she tried. Of course, the same could be said of her and Smallville with a daughter. It seemed so real, despite everything telling her it couldn't be.

"Well Smallville, as much fun as it is to hear that my cousin can now buy me thirty eight times over, how about we get to the heart of this whole thing. How the hell did we, as in you and I with Jordan and another one on the way, happen?"

Clark stood from the couch, smiling at her. "Great story. It has its highs, lows and tales you wouldn't believe. One for the ages, really." He paused a moment, looking at her. "It needs to be told after a meal though. Certainly can't happen on a mostly empty stomach, and I think I'll save the chicken for dinner later this week. How does Chinese sound?"


	6. Chapter 6

----Chapter 6

Lois nearly ran up and strangled Clark. He was unbelievable! She's trying to figure out how and where her life went and he's wanting to order Chinese! "Smallville, what the hell are you trying to do to me? Where are you going?" Clark simply turned and walked backwards as he smiled at her, using a finger to beckon her to follow. He turned around again and walked back into the area of the apartment she hadn't been to yet.

Apparently some things never change. He was still just as infuriating as ever, if not in a more confident way. She stood up and begrudgingly followed him. She saw him leaning against a door frame, looking into a room. Stopping a pace behind him, she was about to lay into him when he beat her to the talking punch. "Have you ever seen anything more innocent and beautiful?"

Lois looked into the room and saw Jordan sleeping, sucking her thumb with her legs tangled up in the sheets. She looked back up at Clark, who was more content than she'd ever seen him. It quickly washed away her frustration with him. "Fatherhood suits you, Smallville," she said softly. She looked away from him, to Jordan and then down at the floor. "It's too bad such a little girl is quite possibly stuck with such a useless mother."

Clark stayed silent for a moment. She figured he didn't know what to say, but when she looked back at him he was smirking. He didn't look back at her when he spoke. "I've heard you called many things, Lois, but useless has never been one of them." There was such a belief in his voice that she sighed, knowing he always saw the best in people, no matter who they were. She just didn't really feel she deserved it right now.

"Funny, Smallville, I used that exact line after Jordan called me mommy earlier today."

She watched him walk towards Jordan's bed quietly. He sat down gently, placing one of his hands on her back and making small circles. He looked to be so gentle she was surprised he was actually touching her.

"What can I say, Lo? You're a bad influence on me." He smiled up at Lois, then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Jordan's head. She stirred a little and pulled her thumb from her mouth.

"Hey sweetheart," Clark said. "Wanna do daddy a favor and wake up?" Jordan's eyes opened and she smiled up at Clark. Her voice wasn't much above a whisper.

"Hi, daddy."

"Hey there. Your mom and I were just thinking about food and we wanted to see what you thought. Are you feeling hungry or are you too groggy right now?"

"Hungry."

Lois thought this a good time to get into the conversation. "We were thinking about Chinese. How does that sound?"

Jordan sat up quickly, a smile plastering itself on her face. "Can we get wontons?"

Clark interjected. "If you were to ask mommy properly, I'll go out on a limb and bet you'll have a better chance of getting those wontons."

Lois would have sworn that Jordan rolled her eyes when she looked back at her. She couldn't decide if it was strangely cute or slightly disquieting that she'd already mastered it. "Mommy, may we get some wontons?"

Lois smiled. She was proud of Clark the her she couldn't remember for instilling proper grammar into their daughter. She shook her head. Supposed daughter. Clark cleared his throat and she looked over at him, and at his look she remembered that she was the mommy. "Oh, right! Yeah kiddo, wontons sound great. I could eat a few of 'em myself right about now."

Jordan sprang up onto her feet and into Clark's arms, hugging herself to his neck. Lois didn't know that anybody liked wontons that much, but hey, at least Jordan seemed to be happy all the time. Nobody wants a sullen child, she figured.

He set her down after a moment and she bounded over to Lois and held her arms out right in front of her and bounced on the balls of her feet a couple times. Lois took this as a sign that she wanted to be picked up and did so. She was immediately greeted by two small arms wrapping around her neck and hugging her for all she was worth.

"I love you, mommy," Jordan whispered into her ear.

"I love you too, baby girl."

A second later Lois's eyes went wide as she realized what she'd just said. Where the hell had that come from? She looked over to Clark, whose eyes looked as wide as hers felt. She hoped she was conveying her confusion over what she'd just said to him, because he was certainly conveying his shock at hearing it.

Apparently that kind of thing hadn't happened previously when she'd forgotten things.

She set Jordan down on the ground again and was greeted with an announcement that the little girl had to go to the bathroom. She watched her march off when she felt Clark come stand next to her. She was definitely classifying this as an uncomfortable silence.

"I've been calling her kiddo all day, Smallville, because it was harmless and I ended up with it when calling her 'kid' seemed a bad idea. Why did I suddenly call her baby girl like it was the most natural thing in the world?"

"I have no idea."

"Oh, that's _real_ helpful. You have to have some information you can give me!"

"I really don't know. What I do know is that 'baby girl' is what you've called her since she was born, and this is the first time you've lost your memory in that time. It's so familiar to Jordan now that I was supposed to tell you that it was what you always called her. You made me promise to have you start doing it again. But nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing from after June 7, 2008 has ever bled through into your consciousness once you've lost your memory." He paused for a second. "I'm not seeing this as something negative, though."

They stood in silence a moment, Clark staring off thinking about what had just happened, Lois feeling uncomfortable in the silence again. She needed something to make some noise, and without music available to her, it fell to her mouth to do it.

"So, where we getting Chinese from?"

Clark snapped out of his thoughts with shake of his head. "Place? Uh, little hole in the wall I know. Very authentic. It's your favorite, actually."

"Well then, those of us that can remember the year 2015 get to call." She smirked at him and started to walk away.

Clark called after her, smirking in return to her back. "Slacker."

Lois didn't pause to think about her answer. "Whiner."

Walking back out to the main area of the apartment, Lois allowed herself a good look around the apartment. While there were obvious differences from 2008, she could still tell what everything was for the most part. The television was flat, but that was becoming the norm as she remembered it anyway, and chairs certainly hadn't changed over the years.

They did seem to have gotten a little more comfortable, though; she sat down in one of the chairs and it basically molded to her shape, which she had to admit was strange yet made sense. They sold beds that did the same, in what she now guessed would be 'back in the day' and whatnot. When she got up, instead of holding the shape of her legs and butt, it went back to the form it had been prior to sitting. She wondered if something like that could get worn out after a few years.

Moving back into the kitchen, she passed the coffee maker and looked at the stove. It looked to be the same as she remembered, which meant she probably still couldn't work the thing properly. The microwave hanging above it looked more or less as she remembered as well, although she didn't think she'd bother with trying out the 'steak' button on it. Popcorn, potato and all those button settings were fine, but what idiot would microwave a steak?

Overall, objects may have been more streamlined in thirteen years to take up less space, but there wasn't really anything that she couldn't figure out a purpose for in the few minutes she looked around. Clark appeared beside her and leaned against the counter.

"You can make a mean mac and cheese now."

Lois frowned. "That's it? All that time and I'm up to mac and cheese? Hell, the stuff can't take more than a snap of the fingers to make now, which just makes me feel even better about it. Learning seems a little pointless since I won't remember anything eventually, but damn..." She trailed off and looked up at Clark, whose smile faltered a bit.

"You, uh, never bother to figure cooking out for that very reason. You do call for great take-out, though."

Sighing, she massaged her neck for a moment. "I never thought I'd be a great cook. I never thought I'd be a good cook, but maybe one that could do something more than zap up some cheese covered noodles. That's it, though? I'm raising a little girl on take-out and restaurants?"

"Well no, not all the time. My mom cooks whenever she visits us and Jordan is at the farm a lot. Being Martha Kent's son has also given me the ability to cook a fair number of things. Jordan loves meatloaf when we get the chance to have it. Oh, and whenever we stay with Bruce, Chloe and their brood, we get top notch food made by their part-time cook. I don't know if that counts as home cooking, though."

"If one has a cook, I don't think it does. Oh, and with your mother, it would be a freaking crime if you didn't know how to cook, Smallville."

He grinned. "And you know how I handle crime... or, well, no you don't."

Lois saw his grin quickly turn to a grimace, which only served to pique her interest further. "The hell are you talking about, Smallville? You end up becoming a cop or something after all those years of having a hero complex?" Watching him sigh, Lois didn't push, but quickly found she didn't have to.

"As it turns out, I tend to lean towards the 'or something' end of the law enforcement spectrum. There's something you need to know, and while I hate to pile things on you so soon, you need to know this. Since it concerns our daughter and unborn baby, knowing sooner rather than later is probably for the best."


	7. Chapter 7

----Chapter 7

Watching Clark take a deep breath, Lois could only wonder what he was going to say. Had he become somebody like the Green Arrow? Was he some vigilante running the rooftops looking for crime? She wondered if Bruce being Batman had led him towards that, if that's what he was talking about.

"Lois, you know all those times that I've disappeared without a word and turned up places where I shouldn't and couldn't possibly be? All those times I've miraculously saved people who, for all intents and purposes, shouldn't have survived?"

She nodded to his question, remembering the hero complex very well since she'd just mentioned it.

"Well, I've been able to do those things because I have some gifts. As in, I have super powers I use to save people."

Lois worked her jaw a second before drawing upon her knowledge of words to say something. "Ok..."

"And not only that, but I am not so much from Earth as I am from a planet called Krypton that was destroyed right after my biological parents launched me towards Earth in a small spaceship as a baby. Oh, and my birth name is Kal-El."

Lois watched as the confidence Clark had been oozing became a little less prevalent. He was still leaps and bounds better than he'd ever been so far as she remembered, but she liked the way he was. Suddenly the weight of the world on his shoulders look made a lot more sense, though she still wasn't going to excuse the brooding.

She figured being alright with all of this would help. It certainly couldn't hurt things. The news was... shocking, for lack of a better word, but in the grand scheme of things only like the third weirdest situation of the day. She was still way more nervous about possibly having a daughter. And memory problems on the scale she had them... ok, no, she was moving the fact that she apparently had an extraterrestrial husband above her memory loss on the crazy scale.

That's when it hit her: she had a daughter that was only half human. Freakin' weird. "I guess Jordan being half... what is it again?"

"Kryptonian. K-R-Y, not C-R-I, just in case you were wondering."

"Right. Jordan being half kryptonian explains why she seems older than three, at least in speech."

Clark only nodded an answer. Lois scrambled for something else, hoping to fill the awkward silence. He said he had powers, so that seemed a topic that could be broached.

"Abilities! So, um, show me your powers. Well, tell me what they are first and then show them to me." None of that sounded natural, so she went for sarcastic. "Wow me, Smallville." She smirked and watched his face brighten a little. Can't go wrong with sarcastic and smirking.

"Powers. Well, I run extremely fast. Smallville to Metropolis and back faster than you'd probably believe. I've got super breath, which means I can produce very strong winds if I blow hard enough. Freeze breath, heat vision..."

"Heat vision? What does that mean?"

"Basically, I can shoot lasers out of my eyes. I can control the intensity of the heat produced and use it for anything from warming you up after being dunked into freezing water to melting metal or welding two things together."

"Certainly a useful power."

"They all are. I also have X-ray vision, telescopic and microscopic vision, super strength, and am more or less invulnerable."

"Well, that's not a lot to take in all at once." The man was a walking list of abilities little boys dreamed of having! "Anything else in there, farm boy?"

"I can, uh, fly."

Well that one caught her unawares. "You can _fly_?"

"Yeah. It's even faster than the running, as you can imagine, and how I get around not only Metropolis but the world to help people."

She watched him hover off the ground and lift her seat with her still in it with one hand like it weighed nothing. He then exhibited his heat vision and freeze breath on a trashy romance novel he found before she slumped back in her chair.

A concerned look passed over his face as she looked to him instead of where he'd been demonstrating. "I hope I'm not piling on too much with all this."

"No, it's not that. What I can't wrap my head around is a super hero from another planet that is more human than anybody, ever, married a very brash, brain damaged army brat. I mean, I know I'm sexy, but I don't think it offsets," she paused and waved a hand at her head, "this whole thing."

"Also, why in the world would I marry _you_ of all people when I forget things. Seriously, aside from having a smoking body, you were not high, or really even on my radar because of your brooding tendencies."

Clark shrugged as Lois noted a small smile playing at his lips. "Things change, Lo. I had my head so twisted with the negative I figured I had a destiny of loneliness ahead of me. A woman out there for me? With my track record and destiny, a life together would be way too dangerous for her. Not only that, but I wouldn't want to burden anybody with my secret that doesn't need that kind of pressure. I've learned that it's more than it would seem to be.

"But, I got things figured out. Got my thinking straight, not without help from a certain spunky blonde, and found in myself, and more so in you, how to be happy. I just needed the love of the right woman."

"I'm happy for you, Clark. I really am. But even with your apparent 180 degree turn from Clarkie, brooder extraordinaire, I wouldn't be able to get that out of my head. I'd be waiting for the mope to return. Like I said, before this memory jazz you were a good friend with a hot body I would never fall for."

"I think you underestimate my power to get you to fall in love with me."

"I don't fall in love quickly, Smallville. Actually, that's pretty much an understatement. It takes a good long while for anything resembling love to take hold of me. You should know that as well as anybody, better now I suspect."

"Forgetting doesn't happen that often, Lo. It's not a yearly thing so much as every two to four years. The time it happened after just a couple years was not long after we, well I, found out you were pregnant with Jordan. This time, pregnant again but it's been over three and a half years, so maybe it's a coincidence. It's doubtful, but you never know.

"Anyway," he said as he grinned at her widely, " this being the third time you've forgotten since we got together, I know all of your defenses, as well as some things you haven't thought of yet. Please trust me when I say I can break your walls down."

She scoffed at him. "Not likely, farm boy."

He scoffed right back. "I _dare_ you to resist me, city girl. Two months, you'll be cracking. In fact, if you weren't so ridiculously stubborn, I'd say a month. However, I know you'll last an extra month out of stubborn pride. Which, if I may add, is a trait you passed to our daughter."

"Every Lane is stubborn, Smallville, so you're damn right Jordan is." Wait, had she just called Jordan a Lane? She shook her head and rolled her eyes at him and herself, walking over to stand right in front of him. "I thought that if I had gotten anything through that thick skull of yours, it was that you never make a bet you can't win. You just did that, and you're going to pay."

"We'll see. Currently, though, I'm going to go get our food. You know how I said it's very authentic?" She nodded. "Doesn't get any more authentic than being straight from China, does it?" He winked at her and disappeared from sight with a gust of wind.

She shook her head and muttered to herself as she pulled hair out of her eyes. "Unbelievable."

Thirty minutes and a severely grumbling stomach later he was back in front of her holding a few bags of food. He handed her a large carton of white rice and another with assorted dumplings, which she immediately dug into when she found a fork and sat down at the table. Clark and Jordan joined her after a moment, but she didn't bother to acknowledge either of them beyond grunts in response to questions. When she heard Clark jokingly warn Jordan to watch her hands around mommy or else they might get eaten, she glared at him but continued to eat anyway.

When she finally felt full, she noticed Jordan was gone and Clark was just staring at her, smirking. The cartons were now empty and she knew there had been at least three egg rolls and a number of wontons somewhere in that feeding frenzy. Groaning, she let her head fall back and began mumbling to herself. "I have to be pregnant to eat that much."

"Hey now, you've always had a healthy appetite, Lo. Don't go blaming it all on Tiny in there." He pointed at her stomach to make sure she got his point. "I'd say it's thirty percent Tiny, currently."

She laughed at him a second. "You call our embryo Tiny?"

"Fetus." She looked at him funny. "You're far enough along now that he or she is a fetus, not an embryo. And why not Tiny? I could always use the nickname Peanut, or to be less of a cliché and stick to the nut theme, Cashew or Almond."

She saw his eyes light up and the rest of his face quickly followed suit. "That's it! Until we have a name, and probably well beyond that, our currently internal baby shall be called Almond Joy!"

Lois rolled her eyes but couldn't help grinning at his pure joy at having come up with the name. "Are you serious? If we start using that with any frequency and we may as well just have a therapist deliver him or her and cut out the middle man."

"So long as the name is said with love it doesn't matter if you call the baby Almond Joy, Snickers or Twix. I could probably call our unborn baby doofus until it's born, not that I would, and so long as the love is felt, that's what's important."

Lois looked at Clark and realized that the strong Kent beliefs and values still held strong with Clark, even with all the bad he'd probably seen in the world. She couldn't decide if it was endearing or unbelievably ridiculous. She settled on the latter, but kept the former in mind.

She was glad he hadn't become jaded, though. She couldn't even really imagine what a jaded Clark would be like, but doubted it would be far off from broody Clark.

She looked away from him and rubbed her stomach a few times, thinking an apology to it for stuffing it so full when she was entirely likely to lose it all sometime not far in the future. Morning sickness... it's like she got the negative effects of being pregnant without getting to enjoy the sex that brought it about.

As soon as the thought entered her mind, she pushed it away. She didn't need to be having stray thoughts about sex with Clark. That was inviting all sorts of bad ideas into a day filled with far too much crazy for any one person.

Lois looked at him again and caught him staring. His eyes bored right into hers, making her a little uncomfortable. She turned away and waited for him to look away for a moment but his eyes never wavered. It was like he was taking a nap with his eyes open. She wondered if sleeping with his eyes open was part of his interesting heritage. Finally, though, she just got sick of it and decided enough was too much.

"Is not blinking for hours on end another one of your powers, Smallville?"

Her noisy intrusion caused him to blink a few times and grin sheepishly as he snapped out of his stare. "Sorry, I tend to have some deep thought sessions when you lose your memory. And before you say anything, it's not brooding, just thinking. I think I'd get kicked by four or five different people if I were to start brooding."

"Well, at least there's that. Nobody wants a mopey super hero, especially not me. Now, on to other topics that are more useful to me at the moment. I tried this once before, but let's give it another go." She motioned with a hand at herself and then him.

"When did we become a we?"


	8. Chapter 8

----Chapter 8

Clark sat back in his chair, slumping a little and smiled. "Chloe would probably be able to tell you what you were thinking at the time but for me... well, you hit me like kryptonite." She wondered what the hell that was, but let him continue.

"I was just going along in life, coming to terms with the fact that I'm probably not meant to have somebody special in my life because, well, like I said my life is dangerous for those around me and I'm not an out going guy. Then suddenly I really see you for the first time getting passionate about something. You threw yourself into journalism, and something in my head suddenly noticed how much you put into things. And yeah, I knew you cared for me in your offbeat way, but I was an over protective brother, not a love interest."

Lois couldn't argue with him there. "Hey, I'd already seen all the goods, Smallville. You naked is still blazed into my memory. It takes some of the mystery out of things; I knew what you looked like naked, so I didn't have to wonder and didn't get curious. And as has been established, I am not attracted to broodiness."

He rolled his eyes. "Right, right. Anyway, I was in no way prepared for the feelings I suddenly felt. Remember me acting weird for a while leading up to your memory loss? Stammering and always looking uncomfortable in my own skin?"

"You mean acting weirder than usual."

"Whatever. That was me trying to deal and doing a poor job of it."

He stopped for a second to look over at the wall. She followed his sight but didn't get the pause.

"What ya looking at?"

He looked back to her and smiled. "Was just checking on Jordan. Remember, x-ray vision." She motioned for him to continue with a story only slightly less strange than seeing through walls.

"This may seem like a tangent, but it'll make sense in a moment. When you kissed the Green Arrow, that was me covering for him so you didn't figure out his identity. I was the kiss that rocked your world, and you confessing as much threw me. There was Lana, and there were a few girls before and around that, but I wasn't what one would call confident in my abilities to kiss. You saying that I could teach Ollie a thing or two, a guy that seemed like he'd had his fair share of women, well, it went to my head."

Lois felt her eyes widen to the size of saucers. "That was y-you?"

He winked at her. "Yeah, I'll prove it to you soon. So that was going on in my head while I'm doing my thing, saving people here and there and making sure you and Chloe didn't get yourselves killed. The more I had to save you, the more I thought about you, and the more I thought about what you'd said about the kiss."

Clark sighed, looking down at the floor. "And then you publish your story and get attacked a little while later.

"Let me tell you, there aren't many times when I've felt _completely_ helpless. I wasn't there to protect you when you needed me. After years of being able to use my powers to get myself and others out of almost every situation, I'm sitting around watching a girl I thought I may come to love from a distance live through machines. You could hold kryptonite to my forehead for a week and I don't think it would hurt as much as watching you waste away."

"Clark, there was no way you could have known to help me. How could you possibly blame yourself for not being there to protect me every single moment of the day?"

Clark shrugged. "I wanted to save everybody from everything, but especially you since I was falling in love with you. I still do, and it still hurts like hell when I can't save somebody, but it doesn't tear me up like it used to. The guilt was bad enough that it would come close to hindering my ability to save those I can.

"I don't like the fact that I can't save everybody, and there are times where I still feel the guilt weighing on me, but when I come home to you and Jordan... it soothes me. I'm reminded that I have to be there for the world, and that if I skewer myself on guilt each time I can't save somebody I'm not going to be any good to the world sooner rather than later."

Well, that was certainly deep, Lois thought. She could make his guilt go away? That's just... huh. Lois wiped a hand across her face before speaking. "Well, I'm glad I can help. So, using your powers to help people..."

"Truth be told, when I was younger I thought of my powers as a curse. They made me different, kept me separated from humanity. I mean, everybody is unique of course, but I think alien with super powers may just take the cake. Granted, I am sharing the cake with J'onn, but still..."

"Who the hell is J'onn? There's _another_ alien?." That's when she noticed Clark getting a far away look in his eyes.

"You were such a different animal from anything I had experienced before," he said softly. " You were so forward and in your face to anybody that dared get in your path. Take no prisoners, as they say. As I've thought about it over the years, I realized I never pined for you like I did Lana, which was mostly physical and built on impossibly high hopes.

"It wasn't hope for acceptance like it was with Alicia, who shared being different. It was attraction to you being you, not the promise of what could be because I knew, _knew,_ that there could never be anything. I loved you for who you were and what you believed. And your amazing body helped, too."

She smiled to herself and he pounced on the opportunity. "Of course, half the time you spoke I wanted to go stand next to a jackhammer with my super hearing active for a pleasant diversion."

"Oh that's low, Smallville," Lois said. "I'll have you know listening to you talk, or more accurately whine, was no picnic either. And you always randomly popping up places I'm going to is not your cutest trait."

The smirk Clark had been wearing turned into a full out beaming smile, which confused Lois. "What's got you so chipper all of a sudden?"

"You implied I have cute traits."

Lois goggled at him. "Like hell I... never mind." She frowned and pointed at him. "Back to the story, Mr. Smiley."

He nodded. "All right then. Feelings felt, hospital entered, sadness for one and all. Six months passed and we had all resigned ourselves to the fact that the story of Lois Lane was going to end prematurely. It was decided that if you were going to live, you were going to have to fight for it. So, with everybody's support, your dad made the call to remove you from life support.

"As you can tell by your current state of living, you fought like a champ and won. Cutting to the chase, we explained what had happened and you got furious. Actually, it was mom that told you what had happened because she was the one there when you woke up. Anyway, as I mentioned, angry is insulting to your rage. You blew through physio in pretty much record time."

Lois felt that she could probably have scripted her reaction to what had happened but decided to let Clark continue since he appeared to have some momentum going towards real answers. If nothing else, she could be silently proud about her recovery time.

"Perry White, or Chief as we now call him much to his chagrin, took over the editor duties at the Planet while you were comatose. When he heard what had happened, he made sure the job you'd previously had was available to you, conditional on one thing: an article dealing with the 'Rage of Lane.'

"See, he didn't want to assign you articles and have to make you do rewrites because they were filled with misplaced anger. Having you write an article on your attack, which was more like an essay on reality, was meant to help you get out what written anger you were going to have. Of course, you being you, it pretty much did the opposite and fueled the fire."

Lois snorted. "Why didn't you tell him that the more I thought about it the more I was going to want to get at that particular issue and the more things would spill into articles not related?"

"I did, as did Chloe. I wasn't working there at the time, though I did know him from a trip he made to Smallville, and got a little face time with him. I asked him to let it go and just let you do your thing, which was get into trouble and need rescuing, which led to good articles. He insisted, and you wrote.

"It may have been the angriest writing I've ever seen while it was in progress. Chief wouldn't hear anything about it, though, and had you keep at it. When you turned it in, he said he hoped you could understand why he had you do it. He printed excerpts in the Metro section for a couple weeks and it got people talking. He ended up printing the entire thing over a five week period. It served as a stepping stone for you, though, because it got you a permanent spot on the investigative team. Odd, since it was an editorial of sorts, but that's what happened."

"Wow, good assignment. Amazing for how old I was at the time." Lois scratched her head a second. "What about Chloe? What was she doing?"

"Chief made you two partners again. Not even he could break up the team of Sullivan & Lane."

"Lane & Sullivan, Smallville."

He rolled his eyes shook his head. "It was unbelievable how much trouble you two got into in your first few months with that job. You were on a crusade to take out anybody that could have even remotely been related to your attack and Chloe was the same way only shorter and more blonde.

"I was there with you as much as I could be to protect you two, to which of course you said you needed no protection with or without enemies. You called it an independence issue to have me tagging along with you guys. Soon after, I got called away to do training with my biological father Jor-El. We told you that I was going to travel the world, which I actually did for a good portion of the four years. I actually got back the day of Chloe's wedding to Bruce."

"How'd you know about it?"

"Didn't." He shrugged. "Jor-El told me my training was over and I could now understand my place in the world, which was true, so I flew home to Smallville. Mom wasn't there, so I tried her cell. She told me what was going on, I slapped on a suit and headed for Gotham."

---

_Clark looked at the huge mansion in the distance from behind the gate he'd just landed in front of. It put Lex's place in Smallville to shame and that thing was a castle. He adjusted the glasses perched on his nose and pushed the call button that was adjacent to the gate. He could just fly in, but that seemed an invasion of privacy. Bruce probably wouldn't mind, but the butler he'd heard about, Alfred, before leaving for training would probably be confused. _

_He heard a bit of static on the intercom directly followed by a British voice. "May I help you?"_

"_Uh, yes, my name's Clark Kent. I'm here for the wedding. My mom should be around here somewhere, actually, if you need to know how I knew..." _

_He was cut off by the creaking of an opening gate and walked inside, watching it push itself back shut once he entered. He super sped to the house, hoping he wasn't going to be getting there in the middle of the ceremony. He rang the bell and a moment later the door opened where a man in traditional butler's clothes appeared._

"_Mr. Kent, please come in." Clark did so and heard the man shut the door. He started walking with the man as he motioned to follow. "I am Alfred. Ms. Sullivan had hoped you'd be able to attend but didn't think it would be possible with your trip around the world. She and Master Bruce will be pleased you could make it."_

"_I hope so," Clark responded. He fussed with his tie but let it stay crooked as he and Alfred walked through the monstrous house. "How long is it until the ceremony starts?"_

_He saw Alfred take a quick look at his watch. "Just over an hour. You have good timing; I would have been unavailable had you arrived much later and you'd have had to break in to attend." Clark gave him a half smile as they walked, not wanting to bother with an explanation on how easy that would have been._

_Alfred stopped in front of a room near the back of the mansion and quickly gave it two quick knocks. Clark stood back and saw the door open and a woman with dark brown hair slide out while saying something placating to whomever was inside. "Hey, less worrying and more getting ready, cuz!" She turned around to face Alfred. "Yeah, what's up Al... Clark?"_

_She was as gorgeous as he remembered. The darker hair, though... that just added to it. "Lois? Dark hair?" He regretted that as soon as he said. There had to have been something better to say._

_He saw her smirk and go into her usual arms crossed stance. "It's like you were never gone, Smallville."_

"_I, uh, yeah. You look great, Lois. I mean, really great." He really needed to work on his speaking skills around her. She was far too gorgeous and made his mind go all useless._

"_I always look great, Smallville. When did you get back?"_

"_More or less now. I got back to Smallville and then caught a flight to Gotham when my mom told me what was going on. Can you believe Chloe and Bruce are getting married? I mean, I knew they were head over heels when I left but I couldn't tell if it had real lasting strength with all his baggage, despite having been a couple for a year by then. When did you first know it was this serious?"_

_Lois's shoulders slumped a little and she looked at the ground. "Lois? Did I say something wrong?"_

_She looked up, a soft smile on her lips. "No, Smallville. You just need to be filled in on some details, but that doesn't need to happen right now. Say, you want to see Chloe? I just happen to be in a position to arrange that." _

"_May I? I'd love to get a few minutes with her before the ceremony."_

_She nodded and ducked her head in the door stealthily. She pulled it back out and opened it up a little more. "She's robed. Go surprise her and make the day even better."_

_Clark mouthed a thank you too her and slipped in, closing the door behind him. He walked in a little further, and found his steps heard when Chloe spoke up from her spot in front of the mirror. "Lois, who was at the door? Did something get messed up out there?"_

"_I'd like to think I'm making it better instead of messing it up, Chlo." _

_She spun around at the sound of his voice and he watched her face light up. "Clark!"_

_She stood and ran the short distance best she could in her garb, launching into a hug. "I can't believe you're here! How did you even find out it was going on?"_

"_When I got back to Smallville earlier and Mom wasn't home, I called her cell and she told me she was here and you were marrying Bruce today. I haven't had time for shock to set in yet because I was racing to get here. Marriage? Wow, Chloe, you don't know how happy I am for you."_

"_Well, it was in the plans anyway, but we just pushed things up a bit."_

_Clark frowned. "Moved things up? What do you mean?"_

_Chloe looked off to the side. "You know how you can zone in on heartbeats? Tell me how many you hear in this room."_

_Odd request, Clark thought, but he did so anyway. He tuned in his hearing and heard Chloe's steady rhythm and a fast but softer thumping as well. He frowned and looked around the room a second before it hit him. _

"_You're pregnant?"_

_She looked up at him again, smiled and nodded. He looked away from her eyes and noted that there was a definite bump where her stomach had once been flat. How had he missed that? He was going to need to work on that if he was going to be useful. Shaking his head, he looked back up and met her teary eyes with his own._

"_You know how happy I was for you a moment_ _ago? Multiply that by a very large number." He pulled her into a hug and held on a second before finally letting her go. "Nobody deserves all this more than you, Chloe."_

"_Well, maybe a couple somebodies, but we can work on that later. Is your training over?"_

_He nodded. "Ended this morning after I helped a man in Sub-Sahara Africa. I was called back to the fortress by the pleasant ringing in my ears and Jor-El told me I was ready to help the world. Well, not so much in those words. His exact quote was 'You have learned to rule by serving the people, Kal-El. Show them hope prevails even in the darkest hour.' _

"_Truth be told, I was surprised. When he had me start traveling the world I was under the impression that it'd be a trip closer to ten years rather than four. Not being one to argue, though, I flew back to Smallville and the rest is very recent history." He paused a second before adding another quick thought. "Oh, and I'm not actually going to rule, I'm just going to help people." _

_Clark realized what was going on again as he recounted his day. "I better get out of here and let you get ready. Is there anything you need?"_

_He saw her smile slightly. "Actually, there is. Dad died last year..."_

"_Oh god. Chloe, I'm so sorry."_

_She patted him on the arm. "That's ok, Clark. Bruce and Lois were there to help me through it." He nodded and she continued. "I was going to walk down the aisle solo, but since you're here, would you walk with me?"_

_Clark was speechless. After a second he figured he should say something. "Chlo, I... yes. A thousand times yes. It would be my honor. I hope my suit is ok for it, though, what with all eyes being on you and me for a moment or two. It's not exactly top notch attire."_

_She laughed. "Clark Kent worried about his clothes. Will wonders never cease?"_

_---_

"Huh, wish I could remember Chloe's wedding. Though, knowing myself as well as I do, I probably drank a lot and got far too emotional about my memory situation. Never was one to pass on free drinks."

Clark smiled and ran a hand through his short hair. "I like to think of it as one of the few days you allowed yourself to be vulnerable. Granted, it was an inebriated vulnerable, but I was willing to take what I could get eight years ago."

Smirking, Lois rolled her eyes at him. "You can't expect me to believe you were falling for me, left for four years and still wanted me when you got back. Seriously, you had a round the world vacation, _excuse me_, training. There must have been a dozen women that showed you some interest."

"None of them were Lois Lane," he said back quietly.


	9. Chapter 9

----Chapter 9

Lois was taken aback by the emotion he let through in his voice. He'd barely spoken and yet she could tell exactly how he felt about her. God, she was Lois Kent. Or maybe Lois Lane Kent. Either way, she apparently had a different name than she remembered and was on the shortlist of never going to happen as best she remembered.

She was about to speak when she saw Cark had turned and looked to be listening to something. "Lois, somebody needs help. I'll be back soon." With a gust of wind following him, he was gone. With exits like that, they probably kept the paperweight business on its feet by themselves.

Lois had barely had time to get to another thought when there was a knock at the door. She was starting to make her way over when Jordan raced out from her room and beat her to the door. She opened it and squealed in delight, launching herself at the person walking into the apartment. "Hey cuz, heard you were pulling a forgetful act on your husband and thought he might need some backup."

"Chloe!" Lois ran over to her cousin and embraced her in a hug as best she could while Chloe held Jordan on her hip. "You have no idea how good it is to see you right now." Lois looked at Chloe and noted that she'd changed, which seemed to make sense with the day she was having. Her hair had grown out, down to the middle of her back and her hips seemed rounder than they had been. To be expected with three kids and a fourth on the way, she figured.

"Gee, had I known I was this popular around here I'd be around more often." Chloe gave a wide smile, the same one Lois was used to. At least that hadn't changed. "So, how are you feeling?"

Lois shrugged, not knowing how else to convey her day. "It's been... I don't know if disquieting or freaky is the better word. But I know it's been one of those. How did you even know to come over?" Chloe put Jordan down and watched her take off back to her room. She turned back to Lois, her smile smaller but just as sincere.

"Clark called me when you thought he was ordering Chinese earlier and let me know you'd lost your memory again. Bruce was already at a judo tournament with Jack and Alfred was happy to watch Aly and Liz, so I had the Wayne jet fueled up and came on over. Figured a familiar face couldn't hurt things any."

Lois chuckled a moment before speaking. "The Wayne jet... seriously Chloe, did you ever imagine having your own personal jet for use when you needed it? I mean, we both seem to have that apparently, though yours is a bit more standard."

She saw Chloe's eyes widen a bit. "What'd I say?"

"No, nothing. Clark just didn't tell you so quickly last time, or ever really." She saw Lois's shoulders slump and followed her into the livingroom where they both sat down on the couch. "Overwhelmed?"

With a sigh, Lois brought her face up out of her hands and looked at Chloe. "Only a lot. Seriously, me and Smallville married? How does that happen? And he's from another planet? And for God's sake, a _daughter_? That's asking for disaster BEFORE I go all forgetful, let alone afterwards like now."

She felt Chloe pull her into a hug and started to breathe a little more evenly. She hadn't realized how upset she'd been getting.

"Lo, I can assure you that you're a great mother to Jordan. She is want for nothing and may quite possibly be the happiest child in history."

"That's all Smallville, Chloe, not me."

"No. She looks like Clark, a lot, but she is in every single way a little Lois Lane in personality. Almost a little you with a side of young child giddiness involved. Truthfully, I think she figured out how to roll her eyes before she could walk."

Lois laughed a little at that. At least her genes hadn't been totally overwhelmed by the Kryptonian genes. It didn't last long, though, and the negativity returned. "I don't feel anything when I see her, Chloe."

"What do you mean?"

"I see a little person that I'm told is my daughter, a little girl that is supposedly half me, and I don't feel anything. I remember all these women saying that they see their child and they can feel it, can feel the love as soon as they're in view. Even Mrs. Kent felt that way when she first saw Clark. She told me that she saw him and just knew he was her little boy.

"I see Jordan and I get zip. There was almost something earlier, when she gave me a hug, but it was so quick I account it to speaking before thinking."

Chloe tried to interject. "Lois, I don't think..."

"This isn't about thinking, Chloe. This is about me lacking basic maternal instincts that even a chimp can probably feel. I'm not feeling anything. I lack the innate love that apparently every other mother has and it... it hurts. I can't even really be sure that she's mine but I want to love Jordan, for her sake, and I can't, and I don't know why."

"Lois," Chloe said softly. "Please don't beat yourself up about this. How can you lack something you never thought you had? I remember you saying that kids were most likely not in your future before the incident, which I knew was ridiculous, but you had yourself convinced. Now you're basically right back in that frame of mind but have a kid shoved in your face, are told she's yours and expect to just feel like a mother?

"It doesn't work that way, Lo. You don't remember any of the process or the girl and you expect for it to just click in your head and your heart that she's yours? I see a flaw in your Lane logic of expecting things to happen as you want them to.

"You know what makes things click? Time. It works wonders, aside from this whole getting older thing we're doing. At least you're young at heart." At Lois's glare, Chloe lost the smile she was wearing. "Right, too soon for jokes."

"I don't want to be a bad mother, Chloe. I also don't want to be a mentally absent mother. What, with every time I forget I get a free reacquaintance with her? That'll be great when she's getting married. 'Who are you?' 'I'm your daughter, sit here and be happy like you know me.'" Lois saw Chloe fighting back a smile and rolled her eyes.

"The only reason I'm holding myself together right now is for her. I don't want her to be exposed to the meltdown I feel like I'm going to have. It's not fair to her, mine or not." Lois saw Chloe start to smile and frowned a little more. "What?"

"I told you you're a good mother."

"And I'm stating as to why I'm _not_ a good mother. Are you paying attention?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Lois, you just described the ideal mother in a way. You're doing what's best for Jordan because it needs to be done. It's not innate feelings, it's doing the right thing for the little girl that's in the other room. That's more than enough, and everything else will come with a little time. Who knows, you could fall deeply in love with your daughter tonight."

"I seriously doubt that, Chloe. And I'm not buying this whole good mother thing either, but whatever."

Chloe looked at her with an unamused glare. "I'm not saying this for my health, Lois. I've got three kids of my own with which to compare and I would do everything exactly the same." Her face softened as she continued. "Please, trust me when I say you are a great mother to Jordan and will be just as great with Almond Joy."

"Oh good lord," Lois mumbled. "He told you about that?"

"Yes ma'am, and you're second child shall always be known as Almond Joy in my book."

"Fantastic," she said as she sat back and stared at the ceiling a moment. "So, to forget my feelings of ineptitude for now, how long have you known Clark had powers and isn't exactly who I thought him to be?" Lois recalled Clark saying sixteen years earlier but wanted to hear Chloe's version of things.

Chloe sat back with her and laid her arms across her stomach. "I found out in early 2005, so I guess it's coming up on seventeen years now. Can't believe it's been that long. He's only been Superman since a few months before Jack was born, though, so I guess that's why it seems shorter than it is?"

"He's been what?"

"Superman. It's the name he goes by when he's using his powers to help people."

Lois rolled her eyes and snorted a laugh. "And here I thought the powers hadn't gone to his head. I can't believe he was arrogant enough to name himself 'Superman.'"

"Well," Chloe said, "he didn't name himself. You named him in his first interview."

"Oh. Well, at least Clark's staying humble."

Smiling, Chloe patted Lois on the back and stood. Why did people feel the need to keep patting her on the back?

"I think Martha would have given him a good thumping had he gotten too big for his britches, so to speak. But really, that could never happen. Clark lives as his dad taught him to, and uses his memory as a moral compass."

Chloe was in the kitchen by this time and pulled a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water, taking a big drink. "You want a glass, Lo?"

"No, thanks. So he flies around in a costume and people call him Superman? How did I even come up with that?"

"Well, he wears his family crest on the chest of his costume. As it happens, the crest of the Kryptonian House of El looks like an S, of all things. Man with numerous super powers wearing a big 'S' on his chest and suddenly the logic is clear, isn't it?"

"I think a more fitting name would have been Smallville."

Chloe broke out into laughter as Lois finished speaking. "You said that the last time you forgot as well."

"It means that I'm right."

"Yeah, well, you go naming him after a town and suddenly everybody that's not all that fond of him is going to be combing the town for information on him. Clark has a lot of unexplained appearances in police reports and unfortunately somebody out there would put two and two together and get Superman. That would lead straight to a certain little girl in the other room."

"Good point. Safety first, even if she wasn't even a twinkle in her fathers eye when he started doing his thing."

"Exactly. One of Clark's biggest fears is and always has been people getting hurt because of his powers. It's the reason he was so secretive about them for so long. When he told Pete, the friend I've told you about and you've met but don't remember, it worked for about a year. Soon after that, though, it led to a world of trouble for Pete and he chose to leave Smallville and live with his mom in Wichita."

"Are you serious?" Lois watched Chloe sit back down with another glass of water and sip at it a second. "I mean, Clark's secret really drove this guy Pete out of Smallville?"

"Yeah. He tells his best friend and it drives him out of town. Needless to say he wasn't going to tell anybody his secret willingly after that unless he really felt strongly it wouldn't tear them apart. Sheds some light on his reasons for brooding, doesn't it?"

Lois was about to answer when something dawned on her. "That's what drove him and Lana apart, isn't it? He never told her about his heritage."

Chloe nodded. "You got it. Well, mostly anyway. According to Clark he did actually tell her once, when Mr. Kent got elected state senator. He actually proposed to Lana and told her everything, even showing her his fortress and popping the question in it. She accepted, but something happened between her and Lex that led to her dying in a car accident."

"Hold on there, Chloe. That's a day I actually remember and there wasn't any Lana drama. Well, no more than usual, anyway."

"By Clark's account, that was the first time that day happened. After Lana died, he went to the fortress and had Jor-El point out a crystal that would allow him to have the day back and change things so Lana didn't die. He did so and never revealed his secret to her. As a result, she didn't die that day..."

"But Mr. Kent did," Lois finished. She felt her eyes widen of their own accord. "Oh god," she whispered. "He must have thought that his fathers death was his fault."

Chloe nodded sadly. "It took him a long time to come to terms with that. During his grief, though, Lana leaves him because of his secrets and turns to the one man he trusted less than anybody else."

Lois sighed as they sat in silence. She felt so bad for Clark. He'd been given such great gifts and they'd only caused him hurt, at least in his mind, for so long. Being alone with only his mother to talk to... "Hey, wait a second," she said. "If Clark never told anybody how did you find out?"

"I'm just that good."

"No, Clark's that good at keeping it hidden. Tell."

Lois caught Chloe rolling her eyes and gave her a friendly push on the arm. "Fine, fine. Remember when Alicia was with Clark and accused of attempted murder? Well, she thought that if Clark let his special traits out for all to know, people would see that not all people with powers are homicidal maniacs. Clark said no, of course. Alicia decided that she'd put my journalistic tendencies to use and tricked Clark into catching a car while she and I were hidden about twenty feet away."

"What does that have to do with your journalistic tendencies?"

"She wanted me to know the truth so I could spread the news that Clark had powers and helped people. Or, as she put it, 'use my poison pen to enlighten Smallville for a change.'"

"She never was quite right, was she?"

Chloe gave a small smile. "No, but I'm kind of thankful for that actually. It allowed me into a part of Clark's life I may not have ever been in otherwise."

Lois found Chloe's statement hilarious and didn't bother to hide her laughter. "Leave it to you to value insanity." Chloe returned the push that she'd recently received and continued on.

"Anyway, back to the how I found out about Clark story. What with all the people in Smallville effected by the meteors, I originally assumed that Clark was changed by them as well. It was when he had to take me to a hospital in the Yukon after he found me in the fortress that he told me he was an alien. He didn't have to tell me about his powers but the from another planet revelation was another shock in itself, as you can currently attest."

"Clark really has a fortress in the arctic?"

"You have to see to believe, my friend. I'd describe it to you but I think you'd end up calling me some hack tabloid reporter." Chloe stuck her tongue out slightly to punctuate the jab at Lois's former profession.

"Ha ha, little cousin. Smallvilles's fortress may well be just a middle of the road item in the weirdness of my day. Hell, nothing beats waking up thirteen years after you don't remember going to bed. Well, maybe me with a daughter beats that, along with the fact that every fiber of my being is worried about screwing her up and putting her into fifteen years of therapy. Saying the wrong thing, doing something differently..." Lois shook her head, frowning and looking at the floor.

"I can handle a new year. Adjustments can be made and I'm still the me I know because I'm not big on change. 2021, doable. But knowing how Lucy turned out after I had to raise her, it kills me to think I could do that to the little girl in the other room." She pulled a hand through her hair to keep it from falling into her downcast eyes. "How is Lucy, by the way? What did she do with her life?"

"First violinist in the Paris orchestra. Has a husband, Paul, and a couple munchkins of her own, both boys. She claims they're as much of a handful as she was, but I think I can boldly say that's in no way true."

"I think I'll join in on your bold statement." Lois ran a hand over her face and smiled to herself a second before she found the words she'd been afraid to say all day. Now seemed as good a time as any to say them.

"The future never scared me, Chloe. How could it when it was just a concept and not something I was ever sure I'd face? It was no guarantee with the trouble I got into. I didn't... I couldn't know what was coming, so I rarely thought about it. Occasionally I would daydream just like the next person, but it was always about my professional life, never anything personal. Something like a husband... I thought I might end up married one day, but it'd be more of a settling for a guy so I wasn't alone. Nobody wants to be alone, right?

"All this, though... I'm not going to be proud and say that it doesn't scare me, because it does. You know I'd never admit that lightly. Not ever, really, before I woke up in the year 2021 without a bunch of memories. A brave face and sarcasm to cover my fear; don't let the walls down and you're safe. But now there's more on the line. It's not taking care of Jordan that really scares me, Chlo. I'm a quick study and will figure it out.

"No, what really scares me the most is that I don't know if this is real. What if this is really just some elaborate hoax or a trick my mind is playing on me? The more I'm here, Chloe, and the more everything confuses me, the more things makes sense, and you know how much things like that annoy me.

"I'm scared because I really, _really_ want this to be real."

They sat in silence for a few minutes after Lois's confession. Lois didn't know where to go after baring her heart, and she figured Chloe didn't have any idea as to how to proceed. How do you respond to somebody telling you that they're afraid reality isn't real?

Chloe finally broke the silence. "I don't know what to tell you, Lo. I guess you'll just have to trust me. If it helps, I can recount the first time you lost your memory , maybe clue you in on some things that are similar."

Lois smiled slightly. "Sounds like a plan, cuz. Fire away."

"Ok then. I woke up and got ready for work, while you were doing your best to put it off and sleep until noon. When you got up, well, I think today was a pretty good indicator of how you felt."

---

_Chloe yawned and banged on Lois's door. "Hey, you going to get up or are you going to make us late, yet again?" She heard a grumbled reply from inside the room and shook her head. Always the same with Lois. _

_Walking into the kitchen, Chloe heard her cousin's door squeak open as she poured coffee into a couple mugs. She held one for herself and handed one off to Lois, receiving a grunt of acknowledgment as she trudged back to her room. _

_Some mornings it took a cup of coffee for her cousin to be awake enough just to take a shower without falling asleep. This appeared to be one of those mornings. She watched her take a big gulp of the near steaming liquid and disappear into her room which was followed by the sound of a shutting door._

_Sighing, Chloe walked back into the living room and sat down, sipping at her coffee and turning on the local morning news. It appeared to be a slow morning as the channel she liked was leading with the mayor announcing some new taxes he'd like to implement for school and street improvement. It always seemed to be one of the two, if not both, when tax hikes were involved because both were always in need of repair in Metropolis._

_She muted the television when she thought she heard her phone ring and grabbed her purse, which she had set down on the coffee table on her way to get Lois up. She pulled her phone out and checked the caller i.d., which lit up her face instantly. She flipped open the phone, her morning instantly better._

"_Good morning, oh ye of the night."_

"_Good morning, Chloe. Headed to work?"_

"_Well I would be, but my partner subscribes to the philosophy that punctuality is something that doesn't apply to her. Once again, Lois is barely awake, which probably means I should call to tell Chief we'll be late again. Seriously, if we weren't as good at what we do as we are, I think we'd have been thrown out on our collective ass ages ago."_

"_I think they keep you around for all the modesty you exhibit, personally. You two have enough to hand out extra to those with a large ego."_

"_Oh very funny. I'll have you know..." _

_Chloe trailed off as she watched an utterly confused looking Lois walk out of her room. She turned up the volume on the television and checked every station she could find with news on it. After running through another couple channels, Chloe watched her turn and motion for her to hang up the phone. _

"_Bruce, can I call you back?"_

"_Yes, of course. Is anything wrong?"_

"_I don't know yet. Love you."_

"_Love you too." _

_Chloe closed her phone and set it down on the couch, then gazed up at Lois, expecting her to say something_ _since she'd just had her hang up the phone, but was only greeted by silence. After another second, she finally did so. _

"_Chloe, what's today's date?"_

_Confused, she didn't hesitate to answer since it seemed important. "April 4__th__."_

_Lois's eyes widened a little before she spoke. "What year?"_

"_Same year it was yesterday, Lois."_

"_What. Year."_

"_2013, Lois, on its way towards 2014. What's going on?"_

_Chloe didn't receive a response as Lois simply spun slowly, looking at their apartment. They had lived there going on six years, originally for Met U being nearby and eventually sticking with it because it was cheap and cab fare to the Daily Planet rarely exceeded twenty dollars, which was a steal with current cab rates._

"_This isn't right," Lois said out of the blue._

"_Not right? How is this not right, Lois? It's the same place we've lived for nearly six years now. We haven't even moved the furniture around for four." She found it an odd fact that they hadn't moved their furniture around since Clark had gone to do his training, but filed the thought away for another time._

"_Years? Chloe, we've barely even been in this place three months yet. It's not 2013, it's 2008 and this is a practical joke gone way too far."_

_Chloe finally stood up from the couch and walked over to Lois, standing a couple feet away. "Are you serious?" Lois simply responded with a glare, so Chloe dug deeper. "Lois, what do you think today's date is?"_

"_June 8__th__, 2008."_

_Chloe felt like she'd been hit. Her eyes were as wide as she had ever felt them and it took her a good ten seconds just to get them to blink again. She stared at Lois, not knowing what to say. That was the after day she'd been attacked. The only day worse was the day that had preceded it. _

"_Chloe, why are you staring at me like I kicked a puppy? What the f-ck is going on?"_

_Snapping out of her shock, Chloe forced herself to turn away from Lois and walk to the kitchen. She needed a second to think, but Lois wouldn't allow it if she saw Chloe's face. She spotted the coffee pot and wondered if Lois just needed another cup of it to fully wake up, but doubted it would be that easy. She turned and faced her cousin, bracing herself on the counter in front of her._

"_How can you joke about that day, Lois," she asked softly. _

"_Joke? Chloe, you're the one pulling the joke! You probably have Smallville stashed in a closet filming this entire thing to use at a party for everybody to get a good laugh or something."_

"_Lois, what's the last thing you remember?"_

"_We had dinner at Bambino's last night. Good food, tasty and fairly inexpensive. You forgot an interview tape at the Planet and were hoping you could get it so you could work on making notes for an interview I was doing the next day. You grabbed a cab, I assured you I'd be safe and you left. I walked home and apparently went to bed, though I don't remember the actual laying down and falling asleep._

"_Then, it's this morning. I wake up to a room that contains pictures I don't remember taking or posing for with strange dates on them. Then I get on the 'net to check some of the mornings news before I hit the shower and all the web sites are saying it's the wrong day, not to mention they all look completely different." _

_Chloe watched Lois look around at the apartment as she spoke, seemingly not recognizing some of the stuff. "So then I come out here and check the news broadcasts and they're saying the same thing. Color me a confused cousin, Chloe. Props on hacking the sites and changing the dates, though I don't know how you got the tv news to show it too."_

_Chloe felt her legs wobble a bit and walked as quickly as she could over to the nearest chair, plopping herself down on it. She was at a complete loss. Either her cousin was the worlds best undiscovered actor or she really believed what she was saying. "Lois, I didn't hack those sites. It would take me ages to do something like that, let alone do anything to alter the dates on the morning news._

"_It's April 2013, Lois. For God's sakes, Clark hasn't even been in the country since August of 2009. You know he's been traveling around the world for three and a half years." Since he'd never told Lois about his heritage, Chloe figured she should probably not let it out now, no matter what's going on. _

"_He was in our Ethics in Journalism class yesterday, Chloe. I admire the commitment to the joke, but seriously, how did you do all of this?"_

_Chloe decided this was too much. She obviously wasn't getting through to her cousin and needed some backup. She got up and grabbed her phone off the couch and dialed Bruce's number. _

"_Hey, that didn't take long. Everything ok?"_

"_No Bruce. Not even close. I need your help."_

"_You have it. What can I do?"_

"_Come to Metropolis. There's a problem with Lois."_

"_I'll be there as soon as possible. Hang in there. I love you."_

_Chloe usually smiled when she heard him say those words, but couldn't get her mouth to work that hard. "I love you too. See you soon." _

_She never thought she'd be one that could do a long distance relationship, but Chloe found that when your boyfriend was a billionaire who could fly to Metropolis anytime he wanted it made up for things._

"_Love? Bruce? Chloe, who the hell were you talking to?"_

"_That was my fiancé, Bruce. Bruce Wayne, the billionaire you never mentioned knowing years ago." She held up her left hand, which was adorned with a large diamond ring. "Come on, you KNOW this. We talked about he and I getting married last night over pizza from that mom and pop place down the block. The boxes are still in the fridge!"_

_Chloe saw Lois throw her hands up in the air. "How? How the hell could it be 2013, Chloe? What, did I time travel in my sleep or something? Pull a Quantum Leap into my own body? I won't accept this without some damn proof, and I'm talking hard proof."_

"_Have you looked in a mirror?"_

"_What? No, I haven't had the chance yet but hey... HEY!" _

_Chloe grabbed Lois by the arm and dragged her into the bathroom, turning her to face the mirror. She didn't think she could have done that if Lois hadn't been so surprised by the move._

"_Chloe, what the... hell..."_

_She watched Lois's eyes go wide with a mixture of confusion and shock as she saw her reflection for the first time and Chloe could tell it really wasn't what she'd expected to see. She watched Lois run a finger over the scar covering her left jaw bone before moving it to scar that ran along the area where the left side of her nose and face met. She didn't touch the one over her right eye._

"_Lois, you were attacked by what is presumed to have been a group of men after I left you to go pick up the interview tape at the Planet. You're unbelievably lucky to be alive right now, and were you a lesser person I don't think you would be. You were in a coma for six months and almost every doctor we talked to by the end thought you were as good as gone."_

_Chloe watched her cousin slowly turn and face her, eyes still wide as they could be. "My hair's back to its natural color, Chlo."_

_---_

"Unbelievable," Lois muttered. "I was surprised by my hair being its natural color this morning as well. Of course, when it was somewhat blonde the night before, I guess that's easy to fixate on along with everything else. So, what happened after that?"

"We went back out to the living room, talked in tones not steeped in exclamation points and bided our time until Bruce got there. When he arrived, we explained the situation and he had top specialists flown in from around the world to examine you and try to determine what was going on."

Lois found that she was sitting on the edge of her seat but was too curious to sit back. "Well? What did they find, Chloe?"

"An astounding amount of nothing."


	10. Chapter 10

----Chapter 10

Lois winced. "Cousin, I sincerely hope that the meaning of 'nothing' has changed to include 'something' in the last eleven years."

"Sorry, no such luck." Lois watched her cousins expression sober a little bit. "There was no physical damage on the MRI or CT scans, nor has there been any discovered with the a couple newer types of scan more recently. Clark's scanned you three dozen times with his x-ray vision and hasn't found anything either, though I doubt he ever really expected to."

"So what could it be?"

"They think it's psychological."

Lois stood and started walking circles around the room. "Are you kidding me? Do these doctors think I have some extraordinary love for 2008 or something?"

"No. The working theory was and still is that the attack is still in your subconscious and those memories bleed into your dreams. The resets, if you will, only occur at night. When things start getting too vivid, doctors think that your mind has a post traumatic stress disorder moment and your amnesia comes back, leaving with your memory from before the attack."

"Unbelievable. Not only does my mind have a reset button, but apparently I got manhandled by my cousin the first time it happened." Lois looked at Chloe flatly, who started to look a little sheepish.

"In my defense I was feeling kind of high strung at the time. Had to plan a big honkin' wedding, which ended up small, thank goodness. I was under the impression that you actually did remember things and were just sticking to a joke too long."

Chloe sighed and smiled . "It wasn't my best day, at least not at the time. Looking back, though, for as bad a day it was it turned out to be one of the most important nights of my life."

Lois frowned, confused by the statement. "How so?"

"Well, what with the being distraught over my cousin's mental malady, Bruce stayed with me while you were in the hospital that night. I was not all that happy with the world and wanted reassurance that there was still some good in it. Bruce made sure I did not lose my faith in the world, despite his views on it, and that was the night we made Jack. "

The confession made Lois laugh. "Jeez, Chlo, not only do you bond with your future husband while watching me be comatose, but you conceive your first child the night the extent of my mental injuries show themselves! I feel like you should be paying me some sort of finders fee for your life."

"And hey, I can afford the price you'd probably charge now." That just sent the cousins into a short fit of laughter that Lois really enjoyed. As confusing as everything had been, she was starting to feel less overwhelmed than she had been. She decided that she could be far worse off than in a year she wasn't familiar with. Fighting against it was getting her nowhere anyway.

She plopped herself down on one of the chairs facing the couch, trying to regain some breath as Chloe did the same. She saw Jordan walking into the livingroom and head straight for her. 'Less overwhelmed,' she quickly reminded herself. She hope that Jordan wouldn't have to find out about any of her memory issues until she was old enough to understand, or perhaps thirty, whichever came first. She hoped the same thing for Almond Joy. Damn, now they had her doing it!

She watched as Jordan walked up to her and smiled. She could remember doing something similar herself as a kid when she wanted something. "Mommy, I'm hungry. May I have some ice cream?" Lois didn't know if it was too late for Jordan to have ice cream, but got an idea that absolved her of liability. She bent down to Jordan's ear and whispered to her, fighting not to break out into a smile.

Jordan quickly turned and walked over to Chloe, who smiled and looked confused all at once. Lois did her best to hide a smile behind her hand. "Mommy says that since you probably spoil your niece rotten you should help her out with something that makes her teeth rotten."

Lois recognized the smile Chloe began wearing before answering Jordan. She'd seen it numerous times when she'd pulled something Chloe thought clever but was annoyed that she didn't do it herself. "Honey, I would love to help. Why don't you head over to the kitchen and I'll be there in a second." Jordan smiled and ran into the kitchen. Lois noted she was nearly bouncing in anticipation.

Chloe walked over to Lois and sat down on the arm of the chair. "Cheap, cuz, very cheap. Not wanting to get up, are we?"

Lois smirked up at her. "What you get for manhandling me the first time I forgot and actually letting me know about it. Plus, as I hear told, I'm far more pregnant than you are currently so I should have to do less. Also, truth be told, all I did today was throw up extensively for about 15 minutes, eat and be confused, but I'm as exhausted as I am when I run five miles."

Chloe eyed her a second then smiled softly. "It's because of the pregnancy. Takes a toll on the body. Fine, you get a free pass this time. Next time, though, I'm not standing for such shenanigans, forgetful or not."

Lois laughed. "Shenanigans? Seriously?"

Chloe stood up and rolled her eyes. "One has to watch her language around kids, Lo. Had I said what I would have in 2008, your little girl over there would have singed ears. And next time, you get to work through the pregnancy induced exhaustion like I have to." Chloe walked over to Jordan and picked her up, setting her on the counter and talking to her about her own love of ice cream.

There was a sudden gust of wind and Lois turned her head to see Clark standing there watching Chloe and Jordan. Her eyes trailed down his body and then back up as she took in the blue spandex, red underwear and cape. She wanted to say something but found her ability to speak gone.

"Don't believe a word of what Chloe just said, Lo. Bruce and Alfred have waited on her hand and foot during each pregnancy, including the current one."

Lois really wanted to speak. She felt that a conversation would have gone much better were she involved, but all she could do was stare at Clark. Finally, she managed to get her jaw moving. "Wow..."

Clark looked down at her and noticed he was still in costume. "Oh, right," he muttered. In a blink Lois found that he was in jeans, a t-shirt and glasses again. He pushed them up off the lower part of his nose and gave a sheepish smile. All she could feel was disappointment that the costume was gone and quickly found herself questioning that feeling.

"And for the record, Chloe, before you go around and start denying it, you do spoil your niece rotten. Not that we're complaining, of course. We'd spoil your kids too if we knew how many you were going to have. I only say _that_ because I could have sworn hearing you say something about Aly and Liz's pregnancy being your last. Something about three kids being plenty, wasn't it?"

Chloe walked back into the living room, smirking. She carried Jordan, who was clutching a bowl of ice cream like it was her most precious possession in the world. Lois watched as they headed right for her and quickly had her lap filled by a small child. Jordan wiggled around a couple times getting comfortable and soon started spooning ice cream either into her mouth or on her face. It was hard for Lois to tell where more went.

She looked down at Jordan a second before looking back up at Chloe and Clark with pleading eyes. They both only smiled back, apparently thinking she needed to bond with her daughter. She watched Chloe turn to Clark and apparently start up their conversation again.

"We planned on concluding our family with the girls. We both thought that three kids was a nice total; you don't have too many kids to keep track of and when they're grown up their kids will have multiple aunts and uncles."

Clark held up a hand to her as Lois watched them with one eye and Jordan with the other. She had taken the spoon from Jordan and was alternating the ice cream between Jordan's mouth and her own. "Hold on, Chlo," Clark said. "You're planning your family based on what your grandchildren may have?"

"Clark, I had my own life planned by the time I was twelve. How is this a surprising revelation?" Clark held up his hands in faux-surrender and Chloe continued. "Well, with three kids, one of the many things that you do have is an imbalance. Three girls including me, two guys including Bruce. So, I figured we could correct the imbalance. Bruce was all for evening the scale."

"I know Alfred is old, Chloe, but I think he still counts as a guy, which makes things even at three."

"Bruce made the same argument for about fifteen seconds, but then hopped aboard, so to speak."

Lois saw Clark roll his eyes as she licked the spoon that no longer had ice cream to give her as he spoke. "Of course he was all for it, Chloe. Not only does he love your kids but it means you and he are going to be... _together_... a lot. At least at some specific times. Seriously, you had Batman walking a little funny when you two were trying for the girls."

Chloe blushed and cleared her throat. "Anyway, the mind is willing and the body able, so we decided to go for another boy."

"And what happens if you guys have another girl?"

Chloe grinned mischievously. "I have more chances for another boy in a couple years when I've forgotten what labor is like again."

"You guys are going to end up with twelve kids, Chloe."

"We could be 'Cheaper By The Dozen: Billionaire Version' if they ever do a remake of the movies," Chloe said as she smiled. "Though, I think my uterus may stage an intervention if we get to eight."

Lois held Jordan close, who she noted seemed to be listening to the conversation with an interested face. She hoped Clark's super genes weren't letting her learn what was beyond her need to know. "You really love having children, don't you?"

Both Chloe and Clark looked at her, Clark surprised at the interjection and Chloe smiling softly, almost too herself. "I miss having a newborn. Holding a child that you've felt grow and move inside you to become a small person... those moments are the some of the best in my life." She rubbed small circles on her stomach a couple times below her navel. "Even if this little one is a girl, it'll be a little girl that has my whole heart like only three other people on the Earth do."

Chloe sighed, contentedly Lois thought, and looked up at Clark as she continued. "Can I see myself having a huge family? No. I'm sure I'll be saying the same thing I said with Liz and Aly's pregnancy, that this will be the last. But, once my current gestating child is older and doing more things on his or her own, who knows?" She shrugged and grinned widely. "Maybe there'll be another one in the future, if for nothing else than getting to know that love again. Lord knows it won't strain the purse strings."

Laughing, she looked back down to Lois, about to say something but stopping as Lois wiped away a tear. Listening to everything that Chloe said, she finally started realizing just exactly what she was losing now and would lose in the future. She'd hoped she could hold it back, but her eyes were starting to win the battle. Chloe looked up to Clark, who motioned towards Jordan. Lois saw Chloe nod as she kneeled down by the chair.

"Jordan, you want to come with me to your room and show your Aunt Chloe your favorite toys?"

Jordan nodded and squirmed down off of Lois's lap, setting her bowl down on the coffee table and taking off for her room. Chloe gave Lois a half smile and patted her on the leg a couple times before following her.

Clark kneeled down in front of her and placed a hand on her knee, rubbing it up and down her leg a couple times before speaking. "What's wrong, Lo?"

"I'm never going to get to remember what she said, am I? I'll know the feelings she described for a little while, but in the long run I won't get to remember any of it. I won't remember my children being born, or their first steps, or their love..." Lois barely got the last words out, her sobs coming as her walls crumbled under the wight of forthcoming realizations.

Clark tried to embrace her, but she pushed him away. "Why don't I get to remember, Clark?" She covered her hands with her face and let it all out, feeling a hand placed on her back. She found it to be more comforting than it should be and found herself leaning into an embrace that finally got a hold of her. She sobbed into Clark's shoulder, grieving for memories she had lost and memories she knew she would forget.

Lois composed herself a little while later, feeling as if a weight had been lifted off of her. She still felt like the world was against her, but the feeling of being overwhelmed was replaced by wanting to live for the time she had. "Am I going to forget again soon, Clark?"

He pulled away from the hug a little and looked her in the eye. "How soon are you talking about?"

"While I'm pregnant."

"I don't know. We can't know, really. Based on Jordan's pregnancy, though, I would say probably not. You only forgot the once while she was in-utero."

She nodded. She needed to make the most of her time with her daughter. 'Woah... I just thought of her as my daughter.' The realization crushed all the sorrow she'd been feeling. "Oh god, my daughter," she said out loud. Clark looked at her funny as her eyes went wide. Lois was hit by a lot of feelings she couldn't describe, but knew were all directed towards Jordan.

She jumped out of the chair and bolted into Jordan's room, moving past Chloe and pulling Jordan into a tight embrace.

She just held her, smiling, holding her daughter. "I love you so much, baby girl. You have no idea how much I love you and will always love you, even if I act strangely sometimes." It scared her how much she meant those words; she knew right then that she loved the girl in her arms more than anything she'd ever known.

Holding her baby girl, for the first time that day like she meant it, Lois felt like she belonged right where she was.

Noting that Chloe had left the room, Lois walked out of Jordan's room with the little girl on her hip. They smiled at each other as she walked with Lois placing a kiss on her temple. "I love you so much, baby girl," she murmured. "More than you'll ever know."

She walked slowly out to the kitchen where Clark and Chloe stood watching her. Chloe was the first to speak as she wiped away what Lois thought a tear of joy. "I guess I was right in suggesting something might click tonight, eh Lois?"

Lois just smiled back and hugged Jordan a little closer. "It really did click." She looked at Clark, who seemed a bit more wary. She rubbed Jordan's back the same way everybody had rubbed hers during the day. "Something wrong, daddy?"

She didn't know if he smiled at being called daddy or her sounding sincere. "No, nothing's wrong mommy. The way you suddenly ran out of here, though, made me wonder if..."

"No, not remember. Realization. Realization that crushed earlier realizations like annoying, sad bugs." She smiled and looked at Jordan again. "This is my baby girl, and despite whatever may be going on in my head, she comes first. Always. Same for our unborn baby. Nothing will get in the way of me loving them entirely, ever."

"Sounds kind of like the light switch got flipped in the mommy section of your head," Chloe stated.

"I guess that's going to have to happen with me sometimes. Realizations aren't always something you work your way into. Sometimes they just hit you like a ton of bricks and your life changes because of them. Be it a light switch flipped or some other metaphor I don't want to bother thinking of, it doesn't really matter." Lois flipped Jordan over to her other hip, patting her on the back a couple times. "And I wouldn't trade what I see now for anything in the world."

Lois planted a kiss on top of Jordan's head. "So baby girl, what do you feel like doing?" Jordan looked like she was about to answer when she let forth a giant yawn and swiped at an eye tiredly. "Never mind, I think I have a good idea of what you should be doing soon." Lois yawned as well, shifting Jordan so she could rest her head on her shoulder. "It's been a long day, Almond Joy has me worn out and my little girl is starting to nod off. If you'll both excuse us, we're going to hit the sack."

Smiling, Lois turned on her heel and headed back to Jordan's room. She had her change into her pajamas and turned out the lights, settling down into the bed. "Goodnight, mommy."

Lois couldn't help the grin that overtook her and pulled Jordan close against her body, placing one last kiss for the night on her head. "Goodnight, baby girl. I love you."


	11. Chapter 11

----Chapter 11

Lois woke up to an empty bed the next morning. Figuring Jordan for an early riser, she stretched as she laid there and looked around the room. There was a small dresser on the opposite wall with various dolls on top of it. One of them appeared to be a Superman doll, which made her smile slightly. That probably made Clark all sorts of uncomfortable.

As her visual inspection of the room continued, she spotted a small digital clock on a desk that was on the opposite side of the bed. 8:30 am. Just under twelve hours sleep. "Not bad, all things considered," she mumbled to herself.

Sitting up, she turned and placed her feet firmly on the ground and stood up, yawning. She walked across the hall to the restroom and splashed some water on her face, waking up a little bit. Looking in the mirror, she was greeted with the same, almost unfamiliar face she'd seen the previous morning. Lois rolled her neck around a few times, loosening it and cracking it a few times. She was annoyed that it wasn't cracking so much as hurting now.

As she opened her eyes again, she noticed her hands resting a couple inches below her navel. "You have got to be kidding me," she said to herself. She pulled her hands away but got curious. She looked down at her stomach, wondering about what may be going on in there.

There was a slight curve there, but that may just have been from the added years. What she did know was that her breasts felt bigger than she remembered. She figured she didn't notice the day before since she was slightly confused by the events she'd been swept up in. That or she was just losing it, which seemed entirely possible.

Walking out to the main area of the apartment, Lois spotted Jordan sitting on the couch reading the paper. She smiled at the sight, figuring Jordan had no idea what she was reading, if she was even reading at all or just mimicking what she saw grownups do. Mimicking what she herself did in the morning, Lois figured a second later.

Turning, she noticed Clark in the kitchen staring at her. He smiled after a second.

"How are you feeling this morning?"

"Less shell shock, healthy amount of skepticism tinged with shades of hope. At least Almond Joy isn't giving me problems." At his wide grin, she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am calling the baby Almond Joy until I think of something better, or at least less ridiculous."

"Knew it'd catch on."

"Anyway, how long is morning sickness supposed to go on?"

"With Jordan, actually, it let up right about this time. In fact I'd go so far to say as you wouldn't have even experienced much nausea yesterday had you not been so worked up about everything, and I doubt you'll get too much more nausea at all outside of the occasional thing every once in a while after another week or two."

Well, at least Lois had that going for her. "Good, glad. Chloe head home last night?"

"Yeah, she wanted to be home this morning when the girls woke up. They're in a very clingy phase right now, she says."

"Well then, what's for breakfast?"

He waved his hand around at the kitchen like a showgirl on a game show. "What sounds good? If we have the ingredients I can make it. Well, to a point, anyway."

Thinking for a second, Lois remembered thinking about going to the farm before all of this had happened. "Can you make omelettes like your mom used to?"

"Sure."

"I'll take two, and some bacon if you have it. Sausage if you don't."

"Omelettes, bacon AND sausage coming up." He called out to the living room. "How's an omelette sound, sweetheart?"

"May I have mine with extra ham, daddy?"

Lois saw Clark smile to himself as he was called daddy and hid her own smile behind her hand. Why did him enjoying fatherhood make her feel happy? Maybe it was that she liked seeing her friends happy...

"You know it, Jordan. Tell me, what's in the news today?"

Jordan stood up on the couch and laid the newspaper on the back of it as she faced them. "Garfield is being silly again and Catbert made Dilbert hit his head against his desk."

Lois heard Clark speak quietly. "Jordan loves cats. We were thinking of getting her a kitty for Christmas, or at least in the near future." Lois nodded and watched Clark get to work on the omelettes.

Not wanting to just sit around, Lois got up and walked over to the couch, sitting down next to Jordan and looking at the comics with her. "What's your favorite comic?"

"Garfield! I love it when he kicks Odie off the table."

Lois wasn't sure if she should be entertained by her daughter or worried about her enjoying violence at such a young age. She chalked it up to the fact that she herself could be known to enjoy a little violence. It was never as good reading about it as being in the thick of it, though.

Leaning over, she placed a kiss on the top of Jordan's head and spoke to her quietly. "Thanks for keeping mommy company last night, baby girl,"

Jordan looked up at her and smiled. "I like sleeping with you and the new baby. Can I sleep with you, daddy and Almond Joy tonight?"

Apparently Clark _was_ faster than any human. How did he have everybody calling their unborn child Almond Joy not eighteen hours after he'd thought up the name? She could almost hear him smiling and then did hear him chuckle a second later. She turned around and looked at him, smirking.

"Hear something funny, Smallville?"

"No, not at all. Just recalling a joke Bruce told me about two CEO's walking into a bar."

"Ok, I'm missing a third of my memory and know that's a lie."

Clark turned to face her, wearing a grin to rival her smirk. "Pray tell, Mrs. Kent, how did you come to that conclusion?"

Lois rolled her eyes and stood up from the couch, leaving Jordan to her 'reading' of the comics and walked over to join Clark in the kitchen.

"You only chuckle like that when you're happy about something you've done or with the way things are. Not laughing at a joke, just happy. You don't, or didn't, do it often. Only with close friends and family, when things weren't being mucked up by one situation or another. It's why I noticed it."

Clark smiled softly and turned back to the food he was preparing and placed a finished omelette on a plate. He turned back around and handed it to her. "Fork's on the table," he said softly. She mumbled a thank you and called Jordan over, placing the food in front of her as she climbed into her chair. No sooner had she done so when Clark handed her another omelette and gave her another smile. She mumbled a thank you and sat down, devouring the omelette without much thought.

As she noticed she was out of food, Jordan moved her plate over in front of her, which she took as a signal for her to finish what was left. She did so, and was quickly handed her second omelette and a plate of sausage and bacon. At this point, she wasn't going to complain about the seemingly never-ending stream of food. Two empty plates later, she finally noted just how much she'd eaten, _again_.

"Come on, Smallville! I know I always had a healthy appetite but this is insane! It's like I can't get filled up unless I eat three meals."

She watched him pick at what little remained of his breakfast and smile. "It's normal to be fairly ravenous; the morning sickness is dying down and you're taking advantage of it, or to be more realistic making up for lost time. But, I maintain that this is still mostly you just having an excuse to eat how you've always liked to."

"Oh good lord, I never said I didn't like to eat, but this has to be AJ's fault. I'm not a pig like this on my own."

"AJ?"

"I feel ridiculous calling something residing in my stomach Almond Joy so I'm shortening it to AJ."

"I see. And no. Overall, I'd say this is 65 you being you, 35 you being pregnant. Now, as things go along, I'm sure I'll up the percentages, but right now, those are what I am giving you."

"Fifty/fifty, Smallville."

"Sixty/forty, and I'm really stretching myself on that one."

Lois scowled, knowing that she wasn't going to win the argument. He seemed very set in his opinions, which she had no problem with unless it concerned her and her inability to stop eating. Hell, he seemed to know her better than she did herself at this point, and it didn't hurt that he was more confident in his stances. A subject change was in order so she could think of a better argument later.

"Hey, why don't you regale me with a tale, Smallville?" He cocked an eyebrow and looked at her, half smiling and half smirking. She figured he knew what she was doing.

"Anything specific?"

"The first moment you realized that you were in undeniably in love with me. And knowing you like I do, or did, the subsequent mope when you determined you had no chance of getting me."

---

_Clark walked into the Daily Planet and made his way through the newsroom until he got to Chloe's desk. She was typing away at her computer, chewing on a pen cap as she stared intently at the screen. She didn't notice him until he sat down on the edge of her desk._

"_Clark! Hey, how's Lois?"_

"_She had another really good physio session. The physical therapist said she's almost ready to be out of her wheelchair full time, which is remarkably fast after six months of no muscle use after an attack like that. God, I remember her looking like a stick figure near the end..." Clark shook his head as his voice trailed off to rid himself of the awful memory and saw Chloe frown. _

"_Anyway, another couple sessions and she'll be able to move around with a cane full time without being griped at. I'm thinking about buying her a top hat to go with it." Chloe smiled at that, which made Clark feel a little better about making her frown._

"_So, what are you working on?"_

"_I'm doing an investigation on insurance fraud at the children's_ _hospital. Yet another case of greed beating goodwill into the ground and then kicking it while it's down."_

_Clark winced at the analogy. Ever since Lois had been attacked, Chloe had been prone to use violent analogies for things, especially when unnecessary. "Don't lose faith in people, Chloe. Just because you're always investigating the bad doesn't mean everybody is bad. Most people are good and have good hearts."_

_Chloe looked up at him and smiled softly. "Sorry, I'm just frustrated. Using sick kids to gain a buck is one of the things I can never forgive."_

"_I don't expect you to. Bring them to justice instead."_

_Chloe smiled widely at that and looked back at the screen. "I've got enough evidence to take down most of the people running the place. My sources are getting me one more bit of information later today and I should have this in tomorrow's morning edition."_

"_Good work, Chlo. A lot more good than I've done lately."_

"_Oh come on, I can work my whole life doing charity work and I won't have done half as many good things for the city, let alone the world, as you've already accomplished."_

"_That's not true. I envy you, though."_

_Chloe turned back to him, one hand still on the keyboard and wearing a confused expression. "You, the man with abilities people only dream about and some people would never imagine, are envious of me?"_

"_I envy the fact that you get to choose your future. You can choose to work in journalism to help people, or choose to work with charities or choose whatever you want. My choices... my select few choices are nothing to write home about."_

"_Jeez, Clark, you sound defeated, like your future has you skewered and their's no way to get away from it."_

"_My future consists of training with Jor-El, Chloe. That's all I know. I don't even know if I'll come back as Clark Kent. I could come back as Kal-El, like I did after that summer I went missing and you were in hiding, and conquer the world for all I know. He says I'm meant to rule. The only choices I have are how to get to that future. I'm trapped, Chlo. I think I have a fair sense of how a man buried alive feels. Well, minus the dying bit."_

_Clark's eyes met Chloe's and the just looked at each other for a moment. She looked away and placed a hand on his knee, giving him a reassuring pat. "I think you underestimate your power to choose. What brought on all this negative thinking and moping, anyway?" _

"_Just feeling down. Can't get my thoughts off the negative in my life. Don't particularly want to be focusing on the bad, yet I always seem to end up on it."_

_Chloe started to look through all the stacks of papers on her desk and rummaged through her top drawer before Clark got curious. "What are you looking for? I can find it fairly easily if it's here."_

"_Pink kryptonite."_

"_What? I've never heard of pink kryptonite before, which means you certainly haven't."_

"_Well then quit moping and whining like you did when you were with Lana! Seriously, I think her clothes were made of pink kryptonite which, in theory, makes you depressingly mopey for hours on end during and after exposure and holy crap, this is about a girl!"_

_How did she go from pink kryptonite to girl? Clark was confused, if not impressed by her thought process. "What are you talking about, Chloe? What's about a girl?"_

"_The way you're moping! You haven't been this 'Woe is me' since you were in the throes of Lana drama. Now who is it?"_

_Clark eyed her for a second, then decided it was quicker to just fess up. "It's just a girl that was in one of my classes last summer. We keep getting together by choice and by accident. She makes my heart do flips with a glance and I can never tell her." He paused and frowned. "I need more guys to hang out with, that was all kinds of girly sounding." _

"_Wait, what? Are you falling in love with this girl?_

"_I..." Clark thought about it a second then continued. "Yes, I am," he said quietly. "God help me, I love her Chlo." _

_He hadn't even considered it could be love until she had said the word. Now that he thought about it, he didn't know if it could be described another way. With his prior history, though, he thought Chloe might doubt him._

"_This isn't Lana part two, Chloe. I'm not falling in love from afar. I know this girl, this woman, very well. Like I said, we've been together a lot the past seven or eight months. I know who and what she really is. She almost broadcasts who and what kind of person she is... Chloe?"_

_He watched her sit there with her mouth frozen in an open position, looking something like a paused movie. Clark reached over and lightly pushed her mouth closed so she wouldn't have her tongue attacked by any stray bugs that may be in the room. It seemed to snap her back to reality. "Sorry," she mumbled. "I wasn't expecting the shocking news that you're in love with Lois."_

"_I, what... huh? That's reaching Chloe, even for you."_

"_Deny all you want, Clark, but you won't convince me otherwise. She was in a class with you, you two spent copious amounts of time together outside of class studying, not to mention you spent the most time with her during the coma. And you always ask to help her during physio and generally do even if she says no."_

"_I call that being a good friend, Chloe."_

"_Ha! No." Clark watched her rub the back of her neck a few times, working out a kink. "Damn, this was so obvious! I must be losing my touch to have missed all the signs that you were falling for her. Not that I can blame you, my cousin is amazing, but still, I should have seen this..." _

_Suddenly, Chloe's face lit up and was covered in a wide smile. "Holy crap! You're in love with Lois Lane! My Lois Lane! What are you going to do about it?"_

_He wasn't going to bother denying it anymore. It would only make things take longer. "Do? Obviously you missed the earlier part of this conversation where I stated 'and I can never tell her,' Chlo. I think it sums up everything pretty well."_

"_Don't get snarky with me, Clark. And no, I didn't miss that statement, I just chose to ignore it. I do that when smart people say really stupid things. Now, what are you going to do about it?"_

_Clark frowned at her and got a glare in return. They sat like that a moment before Clark rolled his eyes. "Fine, here's what I'll do. I'll go an kneel before her, profess my undying love and ask her to marry me. Then I tell her about my dreams to have a family with her, say three or four kids, and then I'll tell her about my heritage."_

_Chloe stood from her chair and quickly smacked Clark on the back of his head. "Quit being so difficult. For all the happiness I have over my best friend being in love with my cousin, who is basically my sister, I'm also afraid of what can happen. You not doing anything, though, is not. An. Option." _

_Chloe punctuated the last three words by poking him in the chest, chin and nose. She was rubbing her finger soon afterwards._

_Clark let loose an exasperated sigh. "You want me to go get some kryptonite so you can beat me up properly?" She responded only with a glare, so Clark continued speaking, softly and seriously. _

"_Chloe, I love Lois. Not like I did Lana, but like a man should really love a woman. Because of who she is, not because of who she might be. There's just too much working against there being any success, though. She's recovering from being beaten within an inch of her life, literally. I have to do my training with Jor-El and who knows how long that will take or what effect it will have on me. _

"_Above all that, I'm me. We both know that nobody I stay with for very long ends up with fat grandchildren to bounce on her knee fifty years down the line. They either die or lose their marbles and then die. My friends tend to fare better than my girlfriends, and being her friend is being one of the privileged few. There are very few things that mean as much to me as her friendship."_

"_But Clark..."_

"_I can't, Chloe. It's just... my future doesn't lend itself to happy endings." Clark stood from his spot on her desk and smiled sadly. "It's not something I get to have, Chlo. You don't know how much I wish I could have that, but I won't." He paused a moment, then smiled to himself as he looked down at the floor. _

"_But hey, at least when you have kids one day I'll get to have some young kids to spoil and love like crazy, right? I can be the fun, creepy uncle that's not actually related. It'd be a crappy dream come true."_

_Chloe smiled sadly. "Yeah, I guess so. What makes you so sure I'll have kids, though?"_

"_If anybody deserves to be part of a happy family, Chloe, it's you. Well, you and Lois both, really. I think you'll both end up happy, too, no matter what Lois thinks her future holds. I do not, however, know what you think your future holds outside of the Planet."_

"_Only time will tell."_

"_Clever."_

"_Thanks, I thought it was too."_


	12. Chapter 12

----Chapter 12

Lois rubbed at an eye, not wanting to admit the story had gotten to her. She didn't even know why it had gotten to her; she guessed it was pregnancy induced, but found it wasn't much more entertaining than the throwing up. But the way he told the story, he really had been defeated inside. Stupid farm boy and his way with words.

"You really thought you were going to end up all alone, didn't you? I mean, I rarely thought about my future beyond what was happening the next week back before my attack, but I never thought I'd be completely alone, even if the togetherness wasn't perfect. You had just given up hope."

Clark smiled sadly, pulling some grapes out of the fridge and set them down on the table to munch on. "I did. Hope is an abstract concept; you can't really grasp it very well without putting a long bit of thought into it. I couldn't know what my future held, just like everybody else, but I was absolutely convinced that it held loneliness. I lost my grasp on hope and dropped it for a little while.

"My track record with women was abysmal. Women I cared about seemed to be cuddling up to death. You'd been through so much already, and it just proved something I knew and didn't want to admit: I could not keep all my loved ones safe. It couldn't be done, so why bring you close to me and watch you get hurt or worse?

"Of course, you had less than no interest in a farm boy from Kansas at the time. For goodness sakes, you only like me for my body now."

"I do not!"

"I always knew you liked things about my personality." He paused a second and grinned at her. "Anyway, you were disinterested and I figured that you would find a man that could make you happy not named Clark Kent. It would hurt, but at least you would be safe. Well, as safe as you ever were anyway."

Lois leaned over and flicked him on the forehead. "That was it? That's what you determined? You thought, in your early twenties, that you were going to be alone for your entire life because you couldn't guarantee the safety of people you loved? That may be your dumbest decision ever, Smallville, which is saying a lot."

"I never claimed to be the sharpest tool in the shed, but then again who is when it comes to love? Like I said, I gave up hope. Hope was just a stupid dream I had in my naive farm boy mind. My heart belonged to another and she didn't know it, would never know it, and I had my potentially awful destiny ahead of me. All I had left was mom, and yeah, I could see her without much trouble, but she was in Washington DC doing important work and I didn't want to trouble her with my depressing thoughts when she should focus on helping the country.

"Basically, I had stripped myself down already. I was worried about what Jor-El was going to do to me in the training and there I was attempting to becoming the emotionless son I thought he'd always wanted without realizing it. I was so down in the dumps that I think Chloe once referred to me as Mope-El."

Lois smiled, grabbing a handful of grapes and quickly made them disappear. "Can always count on Chloe, ya know?"

Clark joined her in smiling. "Yeah, I know."

"So what happened after that?"

"You were mostly recovered, only using your cane for show and wearing the top hat I bought you just for the fun of it. Chloe was on the fast track on you were right behind her and gaining ground. Chloe told the both of us about her relationship with Bruce and how long it had been going on. My friends and family were happy, and I was happy for them.

"Then, Jor-El called me away to do my training. Everybody else, which I guess was just Chloe and mom, knew about my heritage, outside of Bruce, and knew why I had to leave. I told you that I was going to be traveling and try to find what my purpose in the world was, which wasn't far from the truth. After the actual training, I was sent out to travel the world, which wasn't difficult since I had learned to fly by that point."

Lois watched Clark down a glass of water and ate some more grapes. "So I traveled, helping people and trying to spread hope for a better world. Most of the time I would write about what I was seeing, getting articles published abroad and at home as a freelance, sometimes under a pen name but mostly just my own. Chloe even helped me get a few published at the Planet."

He stopped speaking for a moment, and she watched him stare into space, almost as if he were so deep in thought he'd forgotten what he was doing. He surprised her when he spoke again.

"I've always found it ironic that a guy that had lost all hope for himself was meant to be a symbol of hope, and was a symbol of hope to those he helped.

"And thus, I became a nameless helper to people across the world for just under four years. It was at the end of that time when I realized that it was my destiny to be a symbol to people, to show everyone hope always beats despair. I had just helped a man in Sub-Sahara Africa that was alone and stranded with a broken leg. I took him to the nearest functioning hospital, which was hundreds of miles away, and just knew that I was meant for things like that."

"And then like you said in the story about getting to Chloe's wedding, Jor-El told you your training was over. Must've been happy to go home." Lois reached into the bowl to get another handful of grapes and found it to be empty. She frowned and placed her hand in her lap where it wouldn't give her false hope of food anymore.

"I was ecstatic to go home. I flew there as pretty quickly, which took me not long. Then I went to the wedding, walked Chloe down the aisle, watched you from afar and then helped you to your guest room in Wayne Manor after you got very drunk and confessed you lost your memory to the reception in very slurred tones. To this day I think I was the only person that could understand your words by the end of the night."

Lois winced. "That's unfortunate, but at least I didn't end up dancing on the bar."

"Nope, danced on a table instead. Very well, I might add."

"Right, of course. My embarrassing night aside, which I expect to be told about eventually, you came back and..."

"And I got a job at the Daily Planet a few days later."

---

_Clark watched the elevator doors open and let everybody else shuffle out of the thing before he finally made his way into the newsroom. It didn't seem to have changed much since he'd left. New computers and people he didn't recognize, but that seemed to be it. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and made his way through the bustle, excusing himself whenever he bumped into somebody. Nobody seemed to even notice he had done the bumping._

_He finally made his way to Perry White's office and was about to knock on the door when a brunette with her head buried in some papers opened the door and walked right past him. She didn't even seem to have noticed that he was there. _

"_Chief, I'll have the fluff piece on your desk in time for the evening edition. I'm not sure when the piece on planted errors in bank code will be ready, though. My sources have dried up for the time being, but I won't let a little thing like no information stop me."_

"_Lois, I... Kent! Get in here!"_

_Clark had been staring at Lois when Perry had spoken up for him to enter and snapped him out of his wanton gaze. He hoped he wasn't blushing as he stepped into the office and closed the door behind him. He saw Lois turn away from her papers for the first time and affix him with a confused look._

"_Smallville? What are you doing here?"_

"_He learned how to stop burying the lead, Lois, and I owe him one so he's getting a job. Not that he needs to cash in that favor, because his writing is damned good. Almost your level, I'd say. In fact, I'm glad you're here since it saves me a yell. He's going to be your new partner."_

"_He's what? Chief, I don't need a partner, especially not Smallville!"_

_Well, that was a nice shot of self esteem. Clark adjusted his glasses again before stuffing his hands in his pockets and slouching a little more. He decided his voice should be heard in the conversation. "Mr. White, that's really not necessary. I'm happy to work anywhere at the Planet. If Lois doesn't want me, I'm fine with being somewhere else."_

"_Nonsense, Kent. Your writing contains heart and feeling. Combined with Lane's edge it'll make our paper sell like hot cakes. Now, you heard her: her sources are dry. Go with her and find some wetness."_

"_Wetness, sir?"_

"_You heard me, now go! And stop calling me sir!"_

_Clark opened the door and watched Lois walk out, following her and closing the door behind himself. It wasn't difficult to tell that she was less than amused by this development, but she hadn't fought as hard as he would have expected her to against it. _

_He walked a step behind Lois until she stopped suddenly and he walked into her, causing her to drop her papers. "I see years of travel have done wonders for you, Smallville."_

_Clark bent down and picked up all the papers before she could do so and handed them to her, smiling sheepishly. "Sorry, I'm just happy to have a job here. I was worried Mr. White wouldn't have a place for me, and I wanted to work for the best."_

"_Well, I guess that's understandable." She paused a second, looking at the floor. "Look, we need to talk. Follow me, but how about two or three steps of space this time, ok?"_

_Clark smiled and followed her to an empty conference room. She closed the door as he walked in and faced him, frowning. "Look, Clark, I know I got very drunk and... talkative... at Chloe's reception. Even if my words were so slurred you barely understood, I figured I should clear things up before you start asking me a million questions._

"_Yes, I lost my memory in April. No, I do not remember anything from after the attack. None of the waking up in the hospital, physio or anything. The last thing I remember is the same as when I woke up from my coma: watching Chloe get into a cab and drive off, then walking towards our old apartment. Next thing I know, I'm waking up in 2013 with these scars on my face." He watched her gesture with a hand to make sure he got the point._

_Clark tried to think of something to say that would sound appropriate, but couldn't come up with anything helpful. "I wish I could have been there to help out when it happened. I know it wouldn't have made any difference, but at least you'd have had another familiar face. Maybe that would have lessened the jarring effect it had on you."_

"_It would have been unbelievably jarring no matter what happened, Clark. But thank you anyway." She pointed at his glasses. "So, when did you get the specs? Your vision go out on you during your travels?"_

"_These," Clark said, "are something that just kind of happened. I was passing through Morocco and found that I couldn't read the writing. The kicker was all the figures were blurry too, so I got my eyes checked and ended up with the only way to look any more geeky in your eyes." He was glad he'd thought of coming up with that story beforehand. No need to stumble on explanations. _

_Lois laughed, which automatically made Clark forget his lie and smile. "I guess they would be the last way for your inner geek to get out. I won't lie, you've always been easy on the eyes in your farm boyish way, and the glasses don't hurt things any. They give you a sophisticated look that goes well with the suit."_

"_I'll be sure to thank the lady that helped me pick them out, as well as my eyes for having the good sense to go bad."_

"_You do that. Now, if you can just stay mope and brood free you might just be able to land yourself a nice woman. You could live in the 'burbs and have your little Clark Jr's. I might actually know somebody down in legal that would be interested, if you are."_

_Clark mentally sighed, the small bit of hope she'd given him saying he and the glasses looked good dashed. She was picturing him with somebody else, living a life she had professed to not particularly wanting in the past. Ah well, it never hurt to ask about her since he was already being paired up with somebody from legal._

"_What about you, Lois? Are you seeing anybody?"_

"_No. I'm told that I was before the whole mind reset thing happened, but he split pretty quickly once he got wind of that news. Chloe said he was a pretty good guy, too. He didn't mind the physical scars, obviously, and could accept me for me, which is always nice, but apparently he wanted to be remembered of all things. Pretty silly thing to want in a relationship if you ask me." _

_He smiled at her but didn't say anything for fear or letting loose a cheer instead of sounding sorry. Was it wrong that he wanted them to grow old and lonely together? No, not wrong, just very strange, he decided._

"_Since they don't know what caused my mind thing and aren't sure if it will happen again, I think my future has pretty much been set. I have my job and I have Chloe's future children to spoil since potentially forgetting any boyfriend is probably a relationship breaker. No relationship is likely to make for no kids. I'd go to a sperm bank and do the female empowerment thing by having one on my own except me having kids is asking for problems, and that's without the prospect of forgetting them at random times._

"_So, rambling aside, the answer is no, I'm not seeing anybody, and that's almost certainly how it will stay." She rolled her eyes and smirked. "Christ, I sound like you used to. I never knew self-pity was contagious. Come on Smallville, we've got some wetness, er, sources to find. Oh, and my name always comes first in the byline."_

"_Are you okay with me being your partner?"_

"_I could've been stuck with worse. Back in the days I remember you always seemed to turn up places you shouldn't have been, and if you still do that I'm taking advantage of it. You could be one hell of a reporter with a talent like that. _

"_And really, since my mental problems will probably happen again, it's best I do have a partner that can get me back to speed quickly. Plus, it's nice to have it be somebody familiar instead of some nobody off the street that can't write his way out of a paper bag. Most people would find this tedious, but I think you can handle it. And hey, you get to work with the best. How's that for you?"_

_He followed her out of the conference room, smiling to himself. Memory or not, she'd always be the Lois Lane he fell in love with. "I wouldn't have it any other way."_

---

"I loved your attitude, your perseverance and you. Plus, you were still gorgeous, of course, and the dark hair just made you look even better. I never stood a chance."

"Neither did I, apparently," Lois murmured. They'd moved to the couch midway through the story and she was running a hand through Jordan's hair while the little girl was coloring. When she realized what she'd said, she blushed and looked at Clark who was grinning like a kid on Christmas.

"Don't worry, Smallville, you're still firmly outside my walls and will stay there, no matter how high you can fly."

Clark's grin turned to a smirk. "Thank goodness, it's scary in there."


	13. Chapter 13

---- Chapter 13

Laughing, Lois grabbed a pillow and tossed it at Clark, who promptly caught it. "It is not scary behind my walls, it's complicated! I should know, I built them and put 'em in place!"

"Right, right. I think you just lack objectivity when it comes to the walls around your heart."

"Oh that's cold, _Clarkie_."

"I call it 'em like I see 'em, _Sailor_."

Her eyes widened a little and she bit back a retort that Jordan didn't need to hear before the age of twenty, maybe twenty five. She eyed Clark a second before speaking to Jordan without looking away.

"Jordan, you ok to color on your own for a little while?"

Jordan didn't look away from her artistic endeavor. "Yes."

Lois stood up and walked to the bedroom she shared with Clark and had woken up in the previous day. She stayed turned away from the door and heard him enter the room, closing the door as he did so. She spun on her heel, her eyes glaring but her mouth smiling.

"So Smallville, that's the way you want to play it? I recall a certain nightlight that had a presence in your life, and am not averse to bringing his existence into others knowledge." She knew it was old ammunition, but it was what she had.

"Don't worry about me, Lo. I can give as good as I get these days. I have more stories about you than you could possibly imagine. I recall one that starts with you going skinny dipping in Spain..."

She didn't break eye contact but couldn't decide what to do. He was being more infuriating than he'd ever been before. Stupid calm demeanor, stupid confidence seeping out every pore, stupid amazing smile, stupid eyes that you lose yourself in...

Lois launched herself at Clark and attacked his lips with her own. Pulling his head down so she didn't have to stand on her tip-toes, she started nipping at his lower lip. He quickly acquiesced to her silent but screaming request, and their tongues locked in an extremely pleasurable battle for dominance. 'God,' she thought, 'even his tongue is amazing.'

His tongue?

Lois' eyes shot open and she observed their actions for a second as best she could before it really hit her and she pushed herself away from him, taking deep breaths that seemed rather necessary after their altercation. "Woah," she mumbled, touching her lips.

She looked up at Clark and it suddenly clicked in her head: she was making out with Smallville. "Woah woah woah! What the hell was that? Why did I... why did that... woah."

Lois moved over to the bed and sat down on the edge, hardly able to blink or think. "That was amazing... but you're you! Smallville, farm boy, Captain Plaid! I mean, I know we have a daughter together and another well on its way, but the process of how they came to exist... I hadn't thought about it."

Lois unconsciously rested a hand on her stomach while the other was over her heart, which was refusing her requests to slow down to a pace not seen in a sprint. She felt the bed dip as Clark sat next to her and put an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. His other hand rested on hers over her stomach.

"I shouldn't have let that happen. I never quite think straight when you call me Clarkie and it usually ends up in us, well, you know. It's kind of your go to move when you really feel like taking advantage of me." She wanted to glare at him, but all she could do was laugh at the way he'd put it. "I hope you don't think I ..."

Lois looked at him like he'd gone mad. "Smallville, all you did was react to my advances, which is entirely logical since we're married and I'm sure have amazing sex."

Clark smiled softly. "Amazing is certainly a good word for it, yes."

"I figured, if that short make out session was any indication. That was... well, I don't remember a fair bit, but for what it's worth that was the most intense kiss I've ever had. My reaction to it, though, was just me being surprised. I do remember being able to control myself; I think somebody would have mentioned had I lost that very important ability."

"Yes, you can still control yourself. Otherwise you'd have jumped me as soon as I walked in the door yesterday morning." He smiled at her, and she cocked an eyebrow in response, prompting him to continue. "I'm thinking, though, that it may be pregnancy related. Hormones and all that. When you were pregnant with Jordan and got a little farther along you tended to be... aroused... often. You were, to put it mildly, aggressive about it at times.

"It was a very odd experience to have you lose your memory and three weeks later have you jumping me like I was fresh meat in a lion's cage. Not that I'm complaining; your pregnancy might have been as eventful as our first five months as newlyweds, and that's saying a lot." He paused and scratched at his chin a second. "I'm probably telling you a lot of things that you find mildly disturbing."

Lois let her face fall into her hands. She'd heard about it before, some women in pregnancy being insatiable, and she figured it ridiculously obvious she'd be one of those women. The way Clark was now, with his confidence making him look amazing... no, that was a bad road to go down. "So, I was pregnant and horny, eh?"

"Pretty much until the day before Jordan was born. On the upside, though, you had a very short labor. Well, kind of..."

"Well, at least there's that. I'm sure all those thirty hour labor horror stories you hear are worth it when they first hold their child, but it's not something one wishes for."

"No, I would think not," Clark responded

"But seriously, I spent almost my entire pregnancy with Jordan turned on? That's not a comforting thing to hear, Smallville, not when you look all calm and confident like you do now."

Clark rolled his eyes and stood up. "I'm very sorry. I'll do my best to look frazzled and broody for the next 25 weeks or so."

Lois returned his eye roll. "That's all I ask. So, short labor you say? How short we talking here? Couple hours?"

"Well, the part you noticed was about five to ten intense minutes."

Lois thought about what he'd said but was thoroughly confused. "The part that I _noticed_? What the hell are you talking about? I know that I can be a little dense sometimes and ignore obvious things others, but how the hell did I not notice labor?"

Clark ran a hand through his hair, remembering the time leading up to the birth. "You had fairly frequent backaches for the last month of your pregnancy. Really, you had a sore back for the entire last trimester, but the last month was the worst. Hot baths and back massages usually helped a lot, the massages generally leading to the turned on we spoke about. You liked the effect my hands had on you.

"Anyway, you were having a really strong backache the day Jordan was born. You were also having Braxton-Hicks contractions all day, or at least that was how you interpreted them. You never stopped saying that there was no regularity to their timing for months after she was born. As for the backache, there was no come and go one relates to labor, just consistent ouch with an occasional tightening across your stomach, which you misinterpreted or really did just have a very short labor. You didn't feel like navigating sex that day, so you decided to take a hot bath instead of getting a massage."

---

"_Clark!"_

_Clark looked up from his laptop, wiping a hand across his face. Lois hadn't been able to get comfortable the night before so he'd stayed up with her while she was in and out of slumber. He'd also had a bank robbery and a car chase to stop, so he wasn't exactly energetic. He knew he wasn't going to get much rest for a while when the baby was born, so he was trying to get used to it. The experience left something to be desired, he determined._

_He stood and walked to the bathroom, expecting to be used as an aide to get up and out of the tub as he often had been recently. He found Lois with her legs splayed apart and grunting, though, and was immediately snapped into a much more alert state. _

_Clark dropped to his knees and placed a hand on her leg. "Lois, breathe. Can I move you so we can get to the hospital?" God he hoped that he sounded calm because he felt like panic was sidling up to him and introducing itself._

_She shook her head as her face relaxed and she started taking deep breaths. "Nope, baby's almost here Clark. Sat in the tub for a few minutes, felt the baby drop and wham, had to push. I tried the breathing but my body had other plans and now I'm having the baby here." She paused and winced. "Here it comes again..."_

"_Ok, Lo. We can do this; trust what your body tells you and push when you feel the urge." That sounded smart and helpful. He heard her start making strained grunting sounds again and looked down to be greeted by the top of the head before it receded a little. Leave it to Lois to skip straight to the last part of labor._

_He super sped some hand sanitizing gel on his hands, hoping that was sufficient sterilizer, and placed them in the water as Lois pushed again and the baby crowned. "Ok Lois, breathe through if you can. You don't want to tear." He mentally thanked their birthing teacher for getting tearing stuck in his head as something one hopes to avoid. Not in his wildest dreams had he imagined he would need that info for this kind of incident, though. _

_At a load moan, Clark refocused on the task at hand and supported the emerging head as it delivered. He felt the head turn in his hands and heard Lois give a strong yell as the shoulders delivered into his hands, the rest of their baby delivering easily. Reminding himself to breathe, he slowly lifted his daughter up out of the water and laid her down on her mother's chest. He quickly cleared her mouth out with his pinky._

"_She's here, Lo," he said through tears. "Our little girl's here." As soon as he'd made the statement the little girl let out a loud wail and they both laughed through their joyful tears. "And apparently she's got your lungs."_

---

"After that, we called the paramedics and they got there a few minutes after you delivered the placenta. You and Jordan were out of the hospital and back home the next day."

Lois sighed angrily. What was probably one of the happiest and most important days of her life and she was having to listen to it from somebody else's perspective. Shouldn't a woman get to remember the birth of her child?

Looking up, she spotted Clark still smiling at the memory and swipe at one of his eyes, she presumed to get rid of a tear before it fell. She'd give anything to feel that happiness. They sat in silence for a moment before Lois decided it had gotten uncomfortable. "So, the moral of the story is let more people than just you know if I have a backache that won't go away."

"The doctor at Metropolis General said that back labor is common, of course, and it's not the first nor the last time he'd seen a woman have an unintended home birth because of it. You'll have your hospital room this time, unless you want to do it here."

Lois looked at him, eyes wide. "We'll jump off the bridge and all the other pregnancy related decisions when we get to it, Smallville. First off, I think I'll get used to pregnant."

"Right, sorry. Getting ahead of myself. We could wait until you're showing before making any decisions, if you're more comfortable with that."

"Sounds like a plan. How soon do you think that'll be?"

"Like I said earlier, I don't think it will be long. If you don't have an obvious bump in two weeks I'll be surprised."

Lois sighed, feeling the time she had hoped for to make a better adjustment disappear. "Better than nothing, I guess."


	14. Chapter 14

---- Chapter 14

Lois spent the rest of the day with Jordan, bonding with her and trying to get to know all the important stuff she should have known already. Clark was in and out of the apartment, doing patrols around Metropolis and answering calls for help from across the world. When he was there he was working on an article they'd been assigned recently, but she hadn't inquired as to what it was about yet.

She didn't know if she'd ever be able to express how much she appreciated him allowing her this time alone with Jordan. She knew that they'd get a lot of time alone, but allowing her this now when he was probably eager to try and fill her in on what she needed to know... it was one of the nicer things anybody had ever done for her. She'd have to find a good way to thank him. Maybe something in plaid would do the trick.

Early in the evening Clark came home from a save with heaps of Italian food in his arms. "Been vacationing in Rome?" she asked him jokingly. Smiling, he set all the bags and boxes down on various counters and began pulling all the items out.

"Actually, I had to lend a hand in New York so I stopped by Little Italy and got us a nice spread. Got it cheap too, since I'm almost a regular at some of the places. I bring home food from there every time I cover New York for Diana."

Lois set Jordan up with a plate of spaghetti while Clark was talking and started munching on a calzone when he piqued her interest with his last statement. "What do you mean cover New York? It has a super hero of its own named Diana?"

She watched Clark's back as he very visibly sighed and popped a piece of garlic bread in his mouth. "You know," he said as he turned to face her, "that right there is doing a horrible job with an important secret. I mean just awful. I don't know why, but my brain is always a step behind my mouth with you."

"I guess you just love me too much." She took a bite and smiled around it as she chewed. "So, who's Diana and how does she protect New York?"

She thought she heard him mumble something about a 'lasso of truth,' whatever that was, and getting hogtied before he sat down at the table with them, a plate of manicotti in front of him. "Diana Prince is an Amazon Warrior. She was, is, Princess of the Greek island Themyscira. She left the island and went to New York City, adopting the persona Wonder Woman much as I have Superman, which she uses to fight crime the same way I do here in Metropolis."

"Huh. Well, obviously I knew this before since you said it like it was common knowledge, so why were you trying to keep it a secret?"

"I'm trying to avoid information overload. The last thing I want to do to you is overwhelm you. I have a feeling it was pretty bad yesterday with everything you had dumped on you. I do have to say you acquiesced to everything more quickly this time, though."

She watched him eat a moment before finishing off Jordan's spaghetti and wiping up the extra sauce with the garlic bread. He had a hint of sag in his shoulders that she remembered very well, and that was something she felt she could fix now. She reached over and placed a hand on his, smiling softly as he looked up into her eyes.

"Don't underestimate me, Clark. I don't get overwhelmed easily after it happens once. As far as my transition time... it wasn't just about me this time. Have my baby girl to take care of."

He just stared into her eyes for moment, and she knew that if she looked away she'd hate herself for it. Finally, his eyes drifted to Jordan and she saw him chuckle to himself. "You'd think I'd have learned that by now, wouldn't you? I don't know how, but even when you just think of me as a farm boy that mopes, you make things seem alright."

"Well, obviously I think enough of you to have kids with you, and I trust my judgement like I do few others." Smiling, she just stared into his eyes again, those stupid deep eyes that just drowned her with feelings she couldn't imagine Clark causing. She quickly realized that she was going to have to work really hard to hold out for two months like she'd said she would.

As she ate some stunning ziti that she though might give her a foodgasm, she watched Clark playing with Jordan. He picked her up and flew her around the room as any dad would with a child, but as he did so, she was hit with the feeling that this was all just... _right_. She couldn't have explained what she felt if she wanted to, but she knew that if she lost this, she would lose herself.

She finished the ziti, and watching Clark still flying Jordan around the room, she couldn't help herself. "Hey daddy," she said. Clark stopped and looked up, a look of surprise plastered on his face. "When do I get to fly?"

He broke out into just about the widest grin she'd ever seen. "Soon. I'll see if I can pencil you in for sometime this week."

"Good enough," she said as she walked over and sat on the couch.

It wasn't long before she was joined by Jordan after Clark had put her down so he could finish up his dinner. Lois had laid down on the couch and was now covered by Jordan, who was resting her head on her chest. She ran a hand over her daughter's back as they watched Jeopardy together. She couldn't believe that it was still around, and stranger yet, Trebek was still hosting. The man had to be at least eighty.

She watched as Jordan started to drift off, slowly but surely, but listened to Clark's typing on his laptop in a chair across the room. She was surprised when the typing stopped and he spoke.

"Hey Lo?"

"Yeah Clark?

"Since tomorrow is Monday, I was curious as to whether or not you plan on going in to the Planet or if you planned on staying home. Maybe spend the day with Jordan?"

"Truthfully, I hadn't thought about it until just now. Had some other things on my mind for the past couple days if you hadn't noticed." She would have smirked at him but he was out of view, so she settled for continuing to stare at her now snoozing daughter.

"It did become apparent a few hours ago, I guess. I'd suggest taking a few days and acclimating yourself to everything first, then maybe come back on Friday and take the day to learn the new systems they put on the computers a few years back and meet the personnel you don't know. Based on previous experience, though, be you here or there you'll probably hear Chief's explosion when I tell him why you're out."

"I take it he's not exactly fond of my mental condition."

"He hates anything not named Jordan that takes his star reporter away from a story."

She could almost hear Clark's eyes rolling as he said star reporter and couldn't help but grin. "Star reporter, eh? I wish I could be surprised, but I always liked to be the best at what I do."

"So I've heard. Anyway, like I was saying, use Friday to learn the new stuff and throw yourself back in the deep end a week from tomorrow. What do you say?"

"I say I trust your judgement on this and it sounds like you've got a reasonable idea to use. Consider it the plan we're following." A sudden thought struck Lois when she thought about heading back to work. "Say Smallville, where does Jordan usually go during the day?"

"I usually fly her out to Smallville to stay with my mom for the day. They love spending time together and we don't have to stick her in a daycare that can't take care of her half as well."

Lois groaned and immediately felt ashamed. A lot had been going on, but she hadn't even bothered to ask him about how his mother was doing. "How is your mom doing these days, Clark? Is Mrs. Kent still a senator?"

"Mom's good. She did a second national stint and thought about running again, but in the end decided that politics was nice, but it wasn't what she wanted out of life. She does a lot of work with charities now, coordinating things for numerous children's shelters and the like in Metropolis."

"She does that and watches our daughter while we're at work? Where does she find the time?"

"I've asked her about it numerous times, but she just claims that time management is a skill that can be honed like anything else. Throw in running the farm with her charity work and watching Jordan, and I seriously think she's living on three hours sleep during the week and doesn't do anything but sleep on weekends we're not there.

"On a side note, if you think Chloe is bad about spoiling that girl of ours, my mom puts her to shame. I can honestly say that I don't think I've ever heard my mom say no to Jordan. Oh, and if you were to call her Mrs. Kent, she may just withhold desert from you the next time we eat together, not to mention scowl like she's never scowled before."

If anything in the world sounded like a punishment employed by Martha Kent, that would be it. "Martha it is."

"Mommy, why do you keep asking daddy questions?"

Lois looked back down at the previously asleep Jordan, yet again meeting the eyes that so resembled her own. While it was still a bit disconcerting, it was a little bit comforting as well.

"Well, uh, the new baby is making my mind kind of fuzzy. While it's in my tummy it can do weird things to my body like make me not feel very good, or make me really hungry so that I eat a whole bunch. It can even make my memory go kaflooey." Oh dear lord, did she just say kaflooey?

The answer seemed to satisfy Jordan, who nodded and closed her eyes, wiggling a bit and finding a comfortable spot again. Lois craned her neck and looked at Clark, who simply smiled and winked at her before going back to doing work on their article.

A few minutes later, Jordan was out like a light again. This time Clark took her and put her to bed while Lois sat up and stretched. When he came back and sat at his laptop again, she couldn't hold back her curiosity. "So, what's our assignment?"

"We've been investigating corruption in the city council. Seems half the members are in the pocket one of person or another. It came about when we found some questionable contracts granted by the council in another investigation. Perry's letting us run with this to see what we can get."

"Whose pockets are deepest these days?"

Lois watched as Clark sat back in his chair and eyed her for a little while. The silence was seriously encroaching on her dislike of silence. "What?"

"Diving right back in now instead of a week from now?"

"Let's call it a distraction. I've heard enough about me this weekend to last a lifetime and unfortunately, I still have a good bit of that to cover."

"Fair enough." Clark grabbed a thick folder off the table and handed it to her. "That's the information on six of the council seats. They're all paid off by different people in different companies, but each one has a tie to Lex. Indirect and completely negligible, of course."

She laughed mirthlessly. "Is there any other kind of link when it comes to business and Lex Luthor?"

Clark's smile held as little mirth as her laugh had. "I suppose not. Anyway, I've been combing that file and a couple others, typing up my notes and basically creating a list of people we have evidence are involved. For lack of a better term, a 'web of influence,' if you will. If we could find something rock solid, I'm certain we could put Lex smack in the middle of the thing. So far, though, no joy."

"Nobody ever said Lex isn't deviously smart. After my apparent assault at the hands of his goons, or goons probably indirectly linked to him, taking his ass down would be grand."

After a couple hours of meticulous research through a good portion of the information they had, their conclusion was that Lex was exactly as advertised: deviously smart and in serious need of jail time with a large man named Bubba. Lois watched as Clark stood up and walked into their bedroom and returned with a pillow.

"What're you doing, Smallville?"

"I just thought you might be uncomfortable sleeping in the same bed with me since, well, in your memory that hasn't happened yet." He shrugged, which led her to roll her eyes. She walked up to him and took the pillow out of his hands, then promptly hit him in the face with it.

"Do you kick in your sleep, farm boy?"

"Not that I know of, but I do have to help people during the night which entails me getting in and out of bed, not always softly."

Lois thought about it a second, then hit him in the face with the pillow again. "I think I'll be ok, Smallville." She hit him once more, enjoying it more than she thought she should. "Anyway, it can't be all that bad if we're married." Unable to resist, she hit him again. "I'm going to keep doing this until you stop me. It's more fun than I've had all day."

She started to swing the pillow again but stumbled forward with empty hands and found Clark standing before her with his arms crossed, the pillow hanging down from a hand. She regained her balance and smirked at him. "It doesn't surprise me at all that you can't get the best of me without using powers." Turning on her heel, she walked to their bedroom and called back to Clark. "Come on Smallville, I'm tired."

She walked in their room and stopped in front of the bed, waiting for Clark, who was soon in the room, closing the door behind him.. "Ok, so, where do I keep my pajamas and which side of the bed is mine? If you say left I may just have to kiss you."

She saw him smile before he turned and pulled some clothes out of the dresser. He turned back around, holding a couple shirts. "Usually you sleep in one of two things: a large t-shirt or, and you may not believe it, a plaid shirt you stole from me about six years ago."

"Oh, I believe it since I woke up in the thing yesterday. I dare say that was as shocking as waking up in a strange place."

"I can imagine so since you hate plaid _oh_ so much."

"I don't hate plaid, per se, I just got sick of it since you wore it so often. Had you diversified your wardrobe more, I wouldn't have had to start calling you Captain Plaid. Nobody to blame but yourself."

He rolled his eyes and tossed her the t-shirt. "And yes, you do get the left side of the bed. You told me after the first time we made love, very explicitly, that no matter how much I wanted it, I was not allowed to take advantage of your memory loss if it happened again and claim the left side. Apparently if I were to try such a thing, you would remember again long enough to, and I quote, 'beat me down.'"

Lois grinned as she took off her shirt and pants and slipped on the oversized shirt. She thought about being modest and changing in the bathroom, but it seemed Clark had seen all the goods a thousand times over anyway.

It was then that an idea popped into her head. "Hey, could you buy me a pregnancy test tomorrow? I trust you and Chloe telling me I'm pregnant, but I'd just like to check for myself."

"There's one under the sink already. I bought five of the things when I first became suspicious about Almond Joy existing, but you only used four since that seemed proof enough."

"Sounds like something I'd do. I'll be back in a few minutes." She closed the bathroom door behind her and crouched down, looking under the sink for the tester. She found what claimed to be a test but looked like a glucose measuring device she'd seen a diabetic at the Planet use.

Opening it, she found the instructions and inspected the little device. Apparently home tests used blood now and were as accurate as any tests a doctor could perform, or so the instructions claimed. Following the steps, she placed it on the end of her finger and held it there, then pushed the little green button. She felt it prick her finger, which wasn't painful, and held the test in place for fifteen seconds as it told her to.

Once it had beeped three times, she pulled it away and looked at the small screen it had. It flashed 'Pregnant!' at her, which she supposed was the proof she'd been looking for. Sighing, she tossed the test in the garbage. Maybe she'd feel pregnant when she started to show. Right now she just felt like herself with bigger boobs.

Walking out of the bathroom, Lois crawled into bed and under the covers, digging her head into her pillow a little bit. "Goodnight, Clark." She felt the bed dip a little as he laid down.

"Night, Lo."


	15. Chapter 15

---- Chapter 15

Emitting a low pitched groan, Lois felt consciousness encroach upon the slumber she was enjoying. Stubborn to the last, she kept her eyes closed as tightly as she could and pushed her face deeper into her pillow as it shifted a little underneath her. Something about a moving pillow struck her as odd and woke her mind up a little more.

Opening her eyes, she lifted her head up a little bit so she could get a good look at why her pillow was shifting. What she found was a very tan and Clark shaped pillow. A peaceful looking half naked Clark shaped pillow that had his body covered by hers, with an arm around her for good measure.

She was robbed of the opportunity to extricate herself, though, because the alarm next to Clark went off and was promptly turned off with his free hand. She watched his eyes flutter open and meet her own. He raised a sleepy looking eyebrow at her.

"Not that I'm complaining, Lo, but I distinctly recall you being well over on the other side of the bed when we went to sleep last night." He grinned and closed his eyes again. "At the rate you're going, two weeks of resisting may be much more realistic than two months."

"Very funny, Smallville. Mind moving your arm?" He did so and she rolled off of him back to where she'd started last night. Looking at the clock, she scowled. "Why in the world when I wake up earlier after less sleep do I feel more rested than I did yesterday? Have you made me dependent on you for a good night's sleep or something?"

She watched him sit up and stretch, forcing her eyes to his face. No need to go ogling him and his silly number of well defined muscles.

"I guess that could be a valid theory. Probably muscle memory that isn't affected by your memory loss." She noted how he didn't sound at all disappointed with the theory.

Lois slid off the bed and cracked her neck before noticing that her lower half was still nearly naked. She didn't want it to feel like a big deal, but the fact that only one of the people in the room could remember them actually being naked together was not the most comforting thing in the world. Doing her best to sound casual, she turned and faced him. "I'm going to grab a shower. Where do I keep the jeans around here?"

"Well, aside from the pair you wore the last couple days, you only have one other pair, and they're in the hamper. You tend to wear slacks more often than not these days. Though, you do have a lot of pregnancy jeans that you'll be able to wear soon enough."

"Fantastic," she grumbled. "How long until you have to be at the Planet?"

He checked the clock before answering her. "A little over an hour. Why?"

"Well, if it's not too much trouble I'd like to know where everything is so I don't have to spend time asking you where everything is for the next few days."

"Seems reasonable," he said as he walked over to the dresser. "Pretty much everything in here is yours. Top left small drawer is where I keep my undershirts and boxers. Everything else, yours. Top middle is bras, top right your underwear. The middle drawer is your non-work slacks. The bottom drawer is all your pregnancy clothes we kept. I'll hang those up here soon as I have a feeling your stomach is going to hit a growth spurt here in the next week or two."

"I know you were talking about me starting to show soon, but am I really going to have my stomach blow up pretty soon?"

"It isn't an overnight thing, Lo. It won't be you waking up one morning with double the stomach size. The way you described it last time was that your pants slowly stopped fitting comfortably over a few days and after that things really started becoming visible. You weren't happy about the fact that your clothes didn't fit, but you hadn't forgotten yet and were happy to see tangible proof of Jordan not consisting of you throwing up or feeling light headed.

"It all happened around the same time with Jordan. You barely showed at thirteen weeks with her, and by the time seventeen weeks rolled around you were showing enough that pregnancy was obvious. It just happened really quickly and then slowed down for a little while again before the growth became more uniform around the beginning of your fifth month.

"We, well, I know what to expect this time. With Jordan we weren't sure about most things because of my heritage, but this time we've got one under the belt. I know you don't remember, but I promise you that it'll all be fine. A lot to take, waking up in the second trimester of a pregnancy in the wrong year, but you're strong, Lo, and if anybody can handle it, it's you. And when you hold our baby... well, you'll see."

Sighing, she sat down on the bed. So much for not being overwhelmed. Time for a subject change to keep her mind from getting too caught up. "So, slacks when I'm relaxing now? For some reason that just doesn't seem like me. I don't want to call it uptight, but it certainly doesn't seem relaxed."

"Well, we do a lot of stuff with Bruce and Chloe and you say you feel like you're underdressed when you go to the manor in jeans. Plus, I think you've just grown accustomed to them over the years, even when you forget."

"I take it we're at the Wayne Manor often since it doesn't take much time to fly to Gotham."

"We stay there about as often as we do the farm. Truthfully, we usually only spend one or two weekends here a month. And now that I think about it, you do keep three or four pairs of jeans out at the farm so as not to have to drag them back and forth."

"Well, at least there's that," Lois said as she stood back up. "I guess I'll hit the shower. Or do you need to take one first to get ready for work?"

Clark shrugged. "Doesn't take me long to shower unless I want it to, so go ahead. I'll go see if Jordan is up and start breakfast."

Nodding, she went into the bathroom, turning on the hot water and stripping down. Showering was a good time for thinking , but the only thing bouncing around in her head was her soon to be expanded stomach. She couldn't get the thought out of her head; the whole prospect of having a life inside of her was starting to get scary.

It would become real when she started showing, and she wasn't sure how to handle it. God, she'd have sworn three days ago - well, thirteen years and three days ago - she wouldn't even have kids, and here she was expecting and not knowing what the hell she could possibly expect.

Lois decided she needed to get out of her head. There were too many thoughts and worries involving an unnerving topic in there. She finished up her shower and dried off, wrapping herself in the towel and walking out into the room. She dressed in some slacks and one of her more casual looking blouses. Sadly, she felt like she was going to be working that day instead of spending the day with Jordan.

Stepping out of the room, Lois briskly walked across the livingroom and into the kitchen where she was greeted by a tiny blur attaching itself to her legs. "Morning, mommy!"

Pulling Jordan up into her arms, she placed a long kiss on each of her cheeks. "Morning, baby girl. Where's daddy?"

Clark was the one to answer as he walked out of Jordan's room. "Daddy is right here, recovering from going three rounds of dressing our little girl. The first two were split, but daddy won the third by getting her into jeans before she left the room sans pants."

"Well, congratulations to daddy, right Jordan?"

"Right!" She looked around for a moment like she wasn't seeing something that was supposed to be there. "Where's breakfast?"

"Well, since your dad is such a slowpoke getting you dressed..."

"...are you kidding me?"

"...he hasn't taken the time to get anything ready for us yet. And you wouldn't want me making something yucky to start the day, would you?" Jordan shook her head fervently. "That's what I thought. So, how about you ask pops here for some breakfast?" Lois bent down to whisper in Jordan's ear. "I hear he has a hard time saying no to you, so if you ask real nicely you'll get a whole lot of good food."

"I heard that, Lo."

"Right, super hearing. Gotta remember that in the future."

She looked up at him as he was in the middle of rolling his eyes. "I didn't need it. You whisper in a tone some people use for normal speech."

"Very funny and _so_ not true. Back to the topic at hand, though. What would you like, Jordan?"

"May we have waffles and pancakes, daddy?"

Clark smiled ruffled Jordan's hair. "How about you pick one or the other, sweetheart. Whichever you don't pick we can have tomorrow. How's that sound?"

"Pancakes today, please!"

"Sounds good. Anything you'd like to add to that, mommy?"

"A side of bacon if I didn't devour it all yesterday."

Clark grinned widely at her as he backed up towards the fridge. "As it just so happens, we have plenty of fresh bacon. Mom knows how much we all like it so she sets us up with a new batch every week or two. Though, what with your new attachment to it, I may need to get some more from her in a couple days. I guess we can call this your first craving."

"Don't kid yourself, Smallville. I've always loved bacon like it was an edible family member. I figured you'd have known that about me by now."

He laughed as Lois went and sat down at the table, setting Jordan down on a chair of her own. "So, it's just going to be you and me today, baby girl. What do you want to do?"

Jordan shrugged, smiling and swinging her legs back and forth. "Why aren't I going to stay with grandma today?"

"You know how I told you the my mind isn't working as well right now because of the new baby? Well, I'm going to stay home and let my brain rest for a few days before going back to work. That means until Friday, it'll be just you and me. That ok?"

Jordan grinned that adorable grin she'd inherited from her dad and bounced out of her chair and into her mom's lap, taking it over and leaning back against Lois's front.

She had to take a deep breath to calm herself after a moment. It was too good. It was too easy to fall into the trap of letting her heart out from behind its safety only to have it smashed if none of this turned out to be real. It _had_ to be real.

But God, what if it wasn't? What if her baby girl, the one she barely knew yet loved with her whole heart, wasn't real? If she lost her, she didn't know how she'd survive. What if the baby growing within her was just a figment of her imagination and she was just being manipulated into believing all this. It seemed like so much effort to go to, but what if...

"What are you thinking about, Lo?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and gave a small, sad smile to Clark. "Nothing big. Just being scared to let myself hope, Smallville." She shrugged and kissed the top of Jordan's head, pulling her tight against herself. "I think I finally feel what I thought a mother should feel like, though." She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "It is way too early for that kind of sentence. We can talk about it later, ok?"

He nodded and put a plate of bacon in front of them. Lois waited until Jordan got a piece before grabbing a couple for herself and was soon greeted by a couple pancakes with her name on them after her daughter got hers, which was already cut into small pieces and doused with syrup. She garnished her own with the remaining bacon and a little syrup before tearing into it and making it a pleasant memory.

Clark was soon off to work and the day went by a lot more quickly than Lois thought it would. It was still difficult to judge how ahead of her age group Jordan was. She spoke clearly and properly more often than not, and Lois figured that Jordan would probably spell better than she ever would by age six.

Lois found a pizza in a the freezer and made it for lunch, succeeding in keeping it edible which shocked the crap out of her. It turned out to be one of many things she ate before Clark got home from the Planet. He walked in the door not long after four, which she thought might be a little earlier than usual. After he set their daughter down from a long hug hello, she approached him.

"Hey, as I recall work generally lasted longer than four in the afternoon. What's up?"

"Well, Perry took the news better this time and even let me off a couple hours early. Of course, by taking the news better this time I mean he only exploded loudly enough so that two city blocks could hear it. Last time I think they heard it in Colorado because the avalanche I had to save people from was way too coincidental."

"At least there's that. I'd been waiting for the building to start shaking all day. Hell, I was expecting to stand under a door jamb with Jordan and explain to her why the world was no longer standing still."

Clark laughed, making her smile. "So, what did you and Jordan do all day?"

"There was coloring, a snack, television, lunch, and a nap followed by another snack. All in all, not unlike some of the days I had when I was working at the talon. Granted, I now have a small version of me hanging around."

"Definitely not something you had when you lived at the talon. Well, maybe if you count Chloe, but she was taller than Jordan is now..." She sighed as he grinned at his own cleverness.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say that it isn't _quite_ the same thing. So, what was going on at the Planet today?"

She sat down next to Clark, who'd planted himself down on the couch and was taking off his tie. "Pretty slow day. There was a fire at the docks I was sent to cover after Superman handled it. Nobody was hurt and it looks like it was just old wiring."

"Anything new on the city council story?"

"No. I'm meeting with a source tomorrow afternoon, but..."

Lois jumped in there. "You mean _we're_ meeting with a source."

They eyed each other a moment before Clark said anything. "I love you, Lo, but you lost nearly four years of memories two days ago. You don't even know who this guy is anymore."

"I have all the information on the case. The source doesn't know that I lost my memory. And no matter what you say, I would bet ten grand that I'm better at getting the information a source doesn't want to divulge."

Clark frowned at her, and she saw his jaw muscles flexing. Finally, he sighed and let his head drop, looking at the ground. "Almond Joy is going to be out of college before I win an argument. The meeting is at 2:30. I'll pick you up."

"What about Jordan?"

"I'll bring mom by in the morning. You two can catch up and get some quality Jordan time together."

Lois smiled, looking forward to seeing Mrs... Martha again. She was somebody that could be counted on to not change.


	16. Chapter 16

----Chapter 16

Where had all the red hair gone? She was hugging Martha Kent, the vibrant red head that had made a farm house feel like home to her, but she no longer sported the vibrant red hair. It had been replaced by a shade of gray nowhere near as... Mrs. Kent-like!

They released each other and Lois plastered a smile on her face, and was met by a smaller smile Martha was wearing. "Oh, honey, how are you doing?"

"I'm adjusting. Year 2021, married to Smallville with a daughter and a fetus, and he's from another planet? Takes a little time, or so I'm guessing since it's taking me a little time."

Lois was distracted by a pulling at her shirt. She found Jordan had snuck up to them and was looking for a little attention. Lois picked her up and settled her on a hip, still speaking to Martha. "Some adjustments are more scary than others, but also more rewarding." She grinned at Martha before looking back down at Jordan. "What's up, baby girl?"

"The sky!"

The statement had been spoken with too much enthusiasm for it to be serious compared to how Jordan had spoken since Lois had known her. She rolled her eyes and looked back to Martha. "And that's all the evidence I need to know that she's really mine."

"Can we watch some TV, mommy?"

"Sounds good, Jordan. What should we watch?"

"Bugs and Daffy!"

Lois grinned. The girl had good taste in cartoons. "I love Bugs and Daffy. Why don't you go turn 'em on and..." She froze and looked at Martha. What did they call Martha with Jordan around?

"Well be there in a sec, honey," Martha said as she took Jordan off Lois' hip and placed her back on the floor.

She watched Jordan run over to the couch before turning back to the older woman. "Sorry, but Clark didn't tell me what Jordan calls you and I froze."

"She just calls me Grandma, dear. That's all it takes for her to make my heart swell just like it did when Clark was her age. Come to think of it, this was just about the age she was when we found him."

"What exactly do you mean found him? I mean, you've used the term previously but I figured that it meant in an orphanage. Knowing Clark's heritage, it's bound to be more complicated."

Lois watched her smile, more to herself than anything, before she spoke. "Jonathan and I found him in a cornfield. It was just after the first meteor shower. A meteor had hit in front of us and Jonathan couldn't stop in time to keep us from going into the crater, so we ended up upside down. I opened my eyes and there was a little boy, my little boy, naked and staring at us. I knew right there that he'd found us, and he was my joy."

Sighing, Lois smiled sadly. "I wish I could have had that with Jordan. As it was, I thought she looked familiar but could have never guessed we were even related."

"Don't beat yourself up, dear. No one would expect that from you."

"Yeah, well, that can't keep me from feeling guilty about it. It fits in with my stellar track record with family." She folded her arms and took a deep breath before speaking again. "Ok, enough of me being depressing. To change the subject, got any good stories about time I don't remember?"

"What has Clark told you already?"

"Well, Smallville's been jumping around with his stories a bit. Mostly he tells stories that relate to what's relevant in our conversation. It's a little confusing, though. So far we've covered time he spent in the hospital with me before I woke up, a conversation he had with Chloe when I was in physio, the first time we talked when he got back from his training, the first conversation we had when he started at the Planet and Jordan's birth."

She realized, for the most part, he'd concentrated his stories towards the time of the attack. "Thinking about it, I guess he hasn't jumped around much except for Jordan's birth. Oh, and Chloe told me about the first time I forgot."

"Well, that's a lot better than last time. When you forgot during your pregnancy with Jordan he jumped around like crazy. Had you a lot more confused than you are now."

"I find that hard to believe, but I think Jordan may be a buffer for that. I'm doing my best to not be confused around her."

"You're a good mother to that little girl, Lois. Anyway, I guess I'll stay with the early stuff since that's where you've had your focus."

---

_If she was going to complain about something pertaining to public office, it was going to be the paperwork. There always seemed to be more waiting to be read once she finished what she'd already been given. As it was, though, it always gave her a topic of conversation with Lois._

"_I can't believe that Senator Martin is trying to attach a pay raise for the senate on an education bill. They just seem to not be able to do something for the kids unless something is in it for them."_

_Martha shook her head and pulled her hair out of her face. "The gall of these people. They think that getting elected is a license to pad their wallets when most of them are already fairly well off without the senatorial pay!" Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down before she started yelling about her co-workers. "I don't mean to rant, Lois. You know how I get when people abuse attempts to help children."_

_Setting down her papers, Martha looked at Lois. The breathing tube had been taken out a few days ago, and the doctors were shocked she had made it this long. They thought Lois would have been gone within hours, if not minutes, of its removal, but she'd known her girl would fight. She sighed and spoke softly._

"_I know I've said this to you every day you've been in here, Lois, but you're the little girl I never got to have. You and Chloe are two girls I pictured for Jonathan and myself. You two are the toughest, brightest and most independent women I've ever known. You fight for the world so that it can be a better place for everybody."_

_Martha took Lois' hand in hers, holding it for a moment before speaking again. "You, though... you're so much like I was at your age. You guard yourself as best you can, never letting the vulnerability show through. I know it's there, but you walled it up behind the duty you feel towards friends and family. In your haste to be the best person you can to everybody else, you neglect yourself._

"_The difference is that I found Jonathan. I want you to find your Jonathan, somebody that can keep your heart safe and make you happier than you ever thought you could be. He'll have to be a man that can take on the world, because you're going to force him to before he gets inside your walls. _

"_I know you've never seen it or even let it cross your mind, but I think a man uniquely qualified for you is Clark. The two of you would be something special. I don't know if there is another man on this world that could handle you."_

_Martha brushed a tear from her eye, placing a soft kiss on the back of Lois's hand. She set it back down on the hospital bed and turned to the window, letting the steady snowfall pull her thoughts away for a moment. Thinking about Lois and Clark wasn't helping anything, because she knew they'd happen if... no, when Lois woke up._

"_Looks like it's going to be a white Christmas this year," she thought out loud._

"_W... what?"_

_Martha spun away from the window back to Lois, whose hazel eyes were half open. "Lois?"_

_She was answered by the same raspy voice she'd just heard. "Mrs. Kent?"_

"_Oh God, Lois!"_

_Martha moved over next to the bed, placing a hand on Lois' cheek as tears started streaming down her face. "My girl, you're awake," she whispered. _

_Snapping back to reality, she used her free hand to push the call button on the bed. She was answered by a voice over the speaker._

"_May I help you?"_

"_Lois Lane is awake. Send a doctor right away!"_

_She was answered by silence and looked back to Lois, whose eyes had opened up more and were roaming about the room before finally settling on Martha. Her mouth opened, but instead of words she coughed, pushing the older woman into action. She grabbed her empty Sprite bottle and jogged over to the sink, which was about six steps away, and filled up her bottle with water. _

_She jogged back to Lois, placing the bottle at her lips before letting a small trickle start. Lois took what she was given for a moment before she turned her head away from the bottle slightly. Martha pulled it away and sat it on the floor while she watched Lois swallow and try to get her bearings._

"_Where... we?"_

"_You're in Metropolis General hospital, Lois."_

_After appearing to struggle for a moment, Lois spoke again. "Why?"_

"_Oh, honey..."_

_That was all Martha could get out before a doctor and a team of nurses came into the room, promptly ushering her out in t the hallway. She took the opportunity to pull her phone from her pocket and dialed Clark, hoping he'd answer on the first ring. She had no such luck._

_She had to call him two more times before he finally answered. _

"_Hey mom, what's up?_

"_Go to the Daily Planet and get Chloe, right away. Bring her to the hospital."_

_There was a pause before he spoke again. "Is Lois... did she die?"_

"_No, honey. She's awake." She heard what she thought was wind on the phone. "Clark? Clark, are you there?"_

_No sooner had she said it than she was greeted by a gust of wind blowing her hair into her face as her son appeared before her. He was staring into Lois' room, eyes wide. "When?"_

"_A few minutes ago, Clark. You need to go get Chloe and bring her here. More familiar faces will probably help dull the shock, though I don't know by how much. Now, go!"_

_His eyes never left Lois' room as he nodded and then disappeared as quickly as he'd appeared a moment before. Martha didn't bother to shake her head at his love sickness and turned back to look in Lois' room. She couldn't see much, but the nurses kept... the only word that came to mind was scurrying. The nurses were scurrying about the room, grabbing this and that._

_She spent the next five minutes alternating between trying to catch a glimpse of Lois or the doctor and wondering why Clark was taking so long bringing Chloe back. She hoped that they could be here so that the three of them could go in together. She needed to call Sam and let him know, right away._

"_Mrs. Kent?"_

_The doctor's words snapped her out of her thought process, bringing her back to reality. "How's Lois?"_

"_She's awake and alert, which is as close to a miracle as I've ever seen. The odds... well, we've been over that. All her vitals look good, we've taken some blood samples and have her sitting up. She's going to have trouble doing things on her own, though. After all her injuries and subsequent muscle atrophy, it's going to take a good amount of physio to get her back to the good physical condition you've told us she was in."_

"_If anybody can handle it, doctor, it's Lois. I think just waking up proves that."_

_He smiled at her, the first time she'd seen him genuinely do that in reference to Lois. "I agree wholeheartedly, Mrs. Kent. The nurses are going to be hovering for a while, but it looks like she's back for good. We should know some stuff for sure after we run an MRI and CT tomorrow morning. As it is, though, enjoy your time with her and tell her just how lucky she is."_

_With one last smile, he left and she stood alone in the hallway. She didn't want to keep Lois waiting, and with a silent chastisement of Clark not being fast enough for the first time in her life, she walked in the room, where a nurse was getting Lois into a sitting position. When her eyes met the hazel ones in the bed, she just wanted to go and hug her for every day that she'd been in a coma._

_Martha waited for the nurse to move away from Lois before taking over the spot she'd been in, her eyes never leaving Lois's._

"_Why... why here?"_

_How was she supposed to tell her what happened? How do you tell somebody they'd lost more than six months of life because of an attack._

"_Honey, what's the last thing you remember?"_

"_Chloe getting... taxi. Walking home."_

"_Lois..." Martha took a deep breath, hoping that beginning again would also allow her to finish. "Lois, you were attacked on your way home from dinner with Chloe. It's a miracle that you're alive. You've been in a coma."_

_Lois' eyes never left hers, wide and watery. "How long?"_

"_It's been six and a half months, dear. Christmas is in two days."_

_Finally the younger woman's eyes left hers, and Martha sighed as Lois turned her head away with tears leaking down her cheeks. "Lois, it's ok to be sad. Tears are nothing to be ashamed of, no matter what you've been told."_

"_Not sad," she said, her voice holding a strength it had lacked a second ago. "Angry."_

"_Lois!"_

_Martha looked over to where the new voice had come from, finding Chloe and her son standing just inside the room. Chloe was quickly to the side of the bed Lois was now facing, crying with a ferocity Martha had not witnessed many times in her life._

"_Oh god, Lois! You're really awake! Clark told me, but until I saw you, I couldn't let myself hope..."_

_Martha watched as Lois gave Chloe a weak but telling smile. "Too strong for own good. Takes more... to kill me."_

---

"After that, I left the room to call your father and get him back to Metropolis as quickly as possible. They'd stationed him in Germany, if I recall, and he was in your room shedding a few tears of his own by 6am the next morning."

"The General cried?" Lois was barely able to hide her shock. Her father hadn't cried once since her mothers funeral when she was six. "The General does not cry. I should know, I was there for a good bit of it not happening."

"Lois, his eldest daughter had just woken up from a coma. He hadn't given up hope, but you know that he's a realistic man. He knew your odds were abysmal. He'd have to come to terms that he was going to lose you, a young woman that reminded him so much of the wife he lost. It was one of the happiest days of his life."

"Huh." Lois tried to think of something more to say, but failed miserably. The crying General was yet another thing to add to the list of crazy things she thought could never happen.


	17. Chapter 17

---- Chapter 17

The rest of the morning passed quietly, with Lois concentrating on Jordan until lunch, when she started getting ready for the meeting she and Clark had with the source. She suited up and started mentally going over the information Clark had given her Sunday night when they'd done their best to connect Lex to all the dirty councilmen.

Clark got there right at two, kissing Jordan on the forehead and giving his mom a quick hug before they left.

"So, Smallville, who is this guy and what information does he have?"

"His name's Mack, and he says he has documents linking councilman Leaky to Lex directly."

"How'd he get them?"

"As sources go, it could be worse. He says he's a former aide to Leaky at his company. I've looked into it, and there were a couple people that worked as an aide to Leaky that could fit the name 'Mack.' It's worth a look, if nothing else, and it's not like we've never had a possible source turn out useless before."

Lois frowned not liking the sound of this. "As sources go, it could be a lot better. From what little information I've heard, I already have my doubts."

"Believe me, Lo, I'm not banking on this being anything substantial. I'm betting on more indirect evidence at best, useless drivel from a spurned employee at worst."

"How did you even find the guy?"

"We got a tip from Bobby Bigmouth about looking into Leaky's company on the story that brought us around to the city council scandal. I learned about this guy from another source in a different part of the company."

They rode the rest of the way in silence. Lois was looking around at Clark's car... no, their car, unable to decipher how to turn on the radio. She wondered if cars even had terrestrial radio anymore, the way satellite had been catching on. Eh, things couldn't have changed THAT much.

Clark parked them in front of a building, turning to her before the got out. "Ready?"

Lois rolled her eyes. "You ask that like this is going to be some harrowing experience instead of a guy handing us papers."

"You have a tendency to make things like this more harrowing than necessary, no matter how much memory you have."

Twenty minutes later, they got back into the car, Lois grinning like the Cheshire Cat and holding the documents while Clark scratched at his chin. They were silent a moment before he spoke.

"Sadly, that goes on the list of less eventful source meetings."

"I thought it was fun."

"That's because you didn't have to protect your pregnant wife from the ricochet of a gun misfiring."

"I can concede that point, though I am going to say it's unlikely I'll ever have a pregnant wife."

"Lo..."

"Yes, yes. I'll be more careful in the future, Smallville."

Clark sighed. "It's just... I know that you're trying to get back into the swing of things and make adjustments, and it's easy to forget, but you really are pregnant, Lo. We have a little girl at home to think about, too."

Lois grimaced, having forgotten that little detail when they'd been in there. Now her actions were a lot less fun and a lot more stupid. "Well now I feel bad about all that. Thanks a lot, Smallville."

They pulled out into traffic, headed back towards their apartment before Clark spoke again. "I didn't mean to make you feel bad, Lois. I just know that you get caught up in the fact that your partner is more or less invulnerable and as such, take a few more risks. That being said, I still don't know why he had a gun. He sounded kinda jumpy over the phone, but that just seemed excessive."

"The important thing is, we have the information. Do you want to head back to the Planet and get this stuff filed with everything else we have?"

She watched Clark reach back and pull the large folder that had all of their investigation up into his lap. "Not necessary. I told Perry I'd be working at home for the rest of the afternoon. We can do this stuff here and there until Jordan needs to sack out for the night and I take mom home. After that, we can work on this or do whatever you want."

They spent the rest of the afternoon and most of the early evening ignoring the work and just enjoying family time. Lois got lost in the fun of playing games with Jordan, watching Clark smile at everything their little girl did. Martha was the same way, but Clark had been right when he said that she loved spoiling Jordan. While they'd gone to meet with the source, Martha had taken Jordan out to get ice cream cones and the ingredients for ice cream coated chocolate chip waffles to make for dessert. They had ended up skipping a healthy dinner and going straight to the waffles.

Stuffed after dinner with Jordan ensconced in drawing a family portrait for everybody to have, the three adults sat around the coffee table. Lois slouched into an armchair she'd pulled closer so she could put her feet up on the table, sipping at a glass of apple juice.

"So, Smallville, your mom was telling me the story of when I woke up from my coma earlier today. I dare say she told it better than anything you've told me, and _you're_ a writer. You relate things in words for a living. What's your excuse for that?" She grinned at him, seeing if he'd be goaded into telling it from his point of view.

"Lois, you're talking about Martha Kent. She does everything exceptionally, including being a better storyteller than her son. Her son doesn't mind though, since she is an exceptional mother and makes the best waffles anywhere in the galaxy. Trust me, I've asked around."

"Strangely enough, your mother is still the coolest thing about you, Smallville. Funny how some things never changed with time."

Lois watched Martha stand up and plant a kiss on her sons forehead as he rolled his eyes at her statement. "As much as I love hearing you say I'm a good mother, I think it's time I got home. Is Jordan going to come out to the farm tomorrow?"

"Lois is going to go back in to the office on Friday, so she'll be out there then. You'll just have to find somebody else to spoil for the next couple days, mom."

Lois stood and hugged Martha goodbye, then Clark took off with her in his arms. About twenty minutes later, he was back, having done a quick stop of a bank robbery before getting back home. They went and tucked Jordan in for the night before settling back down in the livingroom. A comfortable silence engulfed them for a time before Clark finally broke the silence.

"I'm guessing you want to hear my perspective on your coma awakening."

"It's about time you offered."

"I don't think you're ever going to learn patience, are you Lois?"

"You know, I never thought I'd find an upside to losing my memory, but if it means I never have to learn to be patient... no it still sucks. Anyway, on to the story, Clarkie!" She finished with a wide grin to the sound of him groaning.

---

_Clark drove a fence post a foot down into the ground, then x-rayed to make sure it hadn't cracked from the impact. Finding nothing, he set about driving another post into the ground a couple yards away. When all else failed, pounding things into the ground always helped keep his mind from thinking that at any second he was going to get a call from his mother saying that Lois had passed away, never waking from her coma._

_Sighing, he looked down the line of fifty bare posts he'd driven into the ground in the last few minutes through the light snow. He walked back to the first and started nailing up the main portion of the fence. His mind drifted off, wondering why it had to be Lois dying in the hospital. Not that he would substitute anybody for her; he'd just as soon avoid anybody having to suffer, but he knew that was unrealistic. Lois, though..._

_Why had it only occurred to him not long before the attack that she was so damned attractive? So damned smart, loving, devoted..._

_No. That was a bad road to go down. It only led to brooding, and he'd promised himself that he'd do his best not to brood. It wouldn't get him anywhere and would just make his day go slower. Plus, if there was anything in the world Lois hated, it was brooding. _

_A ringing from the house caught his attention. He super sped back and found that his mom was calling. That meant... no, he needed to stay positive, or at least sound positive. He flipped open his phone._

"_Hey mom, what's up?"_

_His mom sounded urgent on the other end. "Go to the Daily Planet and get Chloe, right away. Bring her to the hospital."_

_Clark's heart fell, his chest pulling tight as the call he'd feared sounded like it was finally there. He took a second to keep breathing before he spoke again. "Is Lois... did she die?"_

"_No honey, she's awake." _

_As soon as he heard the word awake, he took off running for Metropolis as fast as he ever had. The world stood still around him in the few seconds it took him to cover the distance, no thought crossing his mind as he pushed himself to get there. He ran through the hospital and stopped in front of his mother. He x-rayed the room and saw the doctor and nurses tending to Lois. _

"_When?"_

"_A few minutes ago, Clark. You need to go get Chloe and bring her here. More familiar faces will probably help dull the shock, though I don't know by how much. Now, go!"_

_His eyes never left Lois' room as he nodded and took off running for the Daily Planet, getting there a second later. He stepped out of the alley he'd stopped super speeding in and ran into the Planet at normal speed, weaving his was through people as he headed for the stairs. He entered the stairwell and x-rayed up to Chloe's floor finding it empty. In a blink he was exiting the stairwell on her floor and weaving his way through the bullpen towards Chloe's desk._

_It was vacant. Of course it was vacant, because he was in a hurry to find her and get her to Lois. He looked around the room, x-raying everywhere he couldn't see with his normal sight but she wasn't anywhere to be found. He was going to have to try and talk her editor into giving up her current assignment so he could go get her._

_He walked back past the last desk and knocked on the door, where a voice he hadn't heard in years answered. _

"_In." _

_Clark walked into the editor's office to find Perry White behind the desk. "Well, if it isn't Clark Kent of Smallville. Come to cash in that favor I owe you?"_

"_What? Oh, no, Mr. White. I'm looking for Chloe Sullivan. I need to find her and take her to Metropolis General. It's about her cousin, Lois Lane."_

_Clark watched Perry tap his chin a couple times. "Yeah, I read the articles that Sullivan and Lane put out before the attack. Great stuff. Wish I could have met Lane, seems like she was somebody I could have enjoyed working with. I sent Sullivan out to cover a press conference at STAR Labs. You'll find her there. Did you figure out how to stop burying the lead yet?"_

"_What?"_

"_You buried the lead in high school. Have you stopped yet?"_

_Clark looked around, anxious to get out of there and find Chloe. "Not quite. My professor says I'm getting better about it, though. Thank you for telling me where Chloe is."_

_With that, he walked out of the office, eager to get out of the building and speed over to STAR Labs. He did so as quickly as humanly possible, aside from his trip down the stairs, and then sped over to the press conference. He found Chloe standing among a throng of reporters, in the middle of her job. He was torn between screwing up her job and waiting for it to end. After a minute, Lois won out and he made his way through the reporters and got to her side. He tapped her on the shoulder and she turned, sporting a surprised face when she saw him._

"_Clark, I'm working! What are you doing here?"_

"_Lois woke up."_

_Chloe's eyes went wide and wet as she stood stunned for a second before pushing her notepad into her purse and walking behind Clark as he pushed his way back through the reporters. Once they were a little ways away, they found a spot where nobody could see them. He pulled her up into his arms and took off for the hospital, keeping his run slower than he wanted so he wouldn't hurt Chloe._

_They arrived just inside Lois's room and Clark set Chloe down just in time to hear her speaking. "Not sad. Angry."_

"_Lois!"_

_Clark watched Chloe move to the unoccupied side of the bed, her movements slowed by all the tears that were drowning her eyes and cheeks. "Oh god, Lois! You're really awake! Clark told me, but until I saw you, I couldn't let myself hope..."_

_Lois gave Chloe a small smile. "Too strong for own good. Takes more... to kill me."_

_His mother stood, smiling at the scene. "I'm going to get call Sam. He'll want to be here as quickly as possible." She walked out of the room, planting a kiss on Clark's cheek as she passed. He looked back to Chloe and Lois._

"_Lois, I'm so sorry," Chloe said through her tears. "I should have been here. I shouldn't have let my hope you'd wake up wane... god, you're really back!" Chloe put her head down on the bed and Clark finally moved over, placing a hand on her back, his eyes never moving from Lois's face. _

"_Woke up... Mrs. Kent here. Family here, Chlo. Don't cry." Lois's eyes moved up and met Clark's, and he just about burst into tears himself. Looking at her, he knew he'd missed her hazel eyes more than he would admit. "Hey, Smallville."_

"_How are you, Lois?"_

"_Awake. Alive. Angry." She stopped a moment, and he watched her work her jaw a little bit. "Also... alliterative." _

_He laughed, and heard Chloe finally stop crying as she let out a laugh as well. "Good to know, Lois."_

---

"Nobody handles adversity quite like I do, Smallville. How many people do you know that could have cracked a joke at a time like that?"

"Lois, please trust me, you're unlike anybody else I have ever known."


	18. Chapter 18

---- Chapter 18

Lois sat down on the couch next to Clark, ice cream carton cradled in one arm with a spoon attacking its contents. She'd been wanting to eat the stupid stuff ever since dinner and had finally given in, not bothering to get a bowl since the majority of it had been eaten with the waffles. She was going to have to get that recipe from Martha so she could have Clark make them for breakfast during the weekend.

She frowned, attempting to get her mind to stray from scrumptious food and to the business at hand of getting Lex Luthor jailed. She pulled the file they'd acquired and started looking through it. Lex and Leaky having a business lunch, Lex and Leaky attending a charity fund together, LexCorp buying products from Leaky...

Five pages of business dealings. Five pages of entirely legal and circumstantial happenings that couldn't help them unless they could get transcripts of what the men were saying. She tossed the papers on the table and swallowed another bite of ice cream.

"When I get shot at, Smallville, I expect it to be over something that is actually useful. This? Not falling into that category."

"You know that every lead doesn't pan out. You also know that these things take time, hard work and mot of all, concrete proof. I wouldn't be surprised if we're working on this for another couple weeks before we finish with it. With the other pieces Perry assigns us, we can't devote every minute to this."

Lois glared at him as he took the ice cream with him, eating a couple bites before handing it back to her. "We've already spent the better part of three weeks on it, anyway, and if we wait too long Perry will just make us write it without being able to link Lex to all of it. He wouldn't like it, but once we hit the four week mark of an assignment he starts getting impatient."

"But that would only be fighting half the battle! Sure, we'd get rid of a few corrupt councilmen, always a plus, but we wouldn't be getting rid of the real problem!"

"Preaching to the choir, Lo. I want to take Lex down just as much as you do, but unfortunately we can't spend all our time on it."

Lois sighed and placed the empty ice cream carton on the coffee table, annoyed at the fact that Clark was right. The fact that he was right so often and knew what was going on all the time made her uneasy. It wasn't... natural. She was always right, he was always wrong and frustrated. That was the natural order of things, and the natural order shouldn't be upset. She was going to have to fix this in the near future.

For the moment, though, she was going to have to go with it. Unfortunately, she was in a world where she only kind of had an idea of what was going on and everybody else had a clear view of things with a complete memory. She groaned and pushed herself farther back into the couch cushions. She didn't want to pout, what with being in her thirties now, but this sucked.

"Something wrong, Lois?"

"Is something wrong, Smallville?" She looked at him incredulously. "This sucks!"

"I know this can be frustrating, but the story will come around."

"No, not that. This!" She waved her hands around at everything, as if trying to explain herself with gestures. She took a couple deep breaths to calm herself down. "I'm not who I'm supposed to be. I'm thirty-five, Clark. But my head isn't... it's such an odd thing to have to explain. When it comes right down to it, I'm a transplanted twenty-three year old. I haven't had the chance to change and become the person I hoped to be, which is somebody that had her act together and was the best at what she did.

"I don't remember finishing school. I don't remember becoming the top reporter at the Daily Planet. I don't remember Chloe growing up to become the woman and mother she is. I don't remember growing up myself, because as I am, I'm not ready for any of this. I'm doing my best with Jordan, and God knows she's making the transition a little easier, but Lois Lane of 2008 was not ready to be a mother. Hell, Lois Lane of 2018 probably wasn't ready to be a mother, and then she certainly wasn't when she went back to being Lois of 2008, but at least she had months before giving birth to adjust. I mean, I do too, but she didn't have a daughter already born.

"I've been thrust into something that I don't know how to handle. You know me, Smallville. I don't handle situations I don't know how to handle very well. More often than not I just bull my way through and hope to get lucky, but I can't do that here. There's a little girl depending on me to be a stable influence. If I just bull my way through this time, I'm liable to end up hurting her, and I can't take that chance."

She sat up and looked Clark in the eye, her jaw flexing as she tried to say what she felt.

"I'm not just out of my element, Clark, I'm out of my league. Jordan needs somebody that can make her life better. In 2008 I had _just_ pulled my life together. I had a steady income at a job I loved for the first time in my life. Life was... I don't know, stable, for the first time since my mom died. But I didn't know how to be a role model. I couldn't make a life for somebody dependent on me. I can't do it, Clark."

They sat in silence a moment, Lois drowning herself in doubt about her ability to be a part of the family she was already in. Why had life done this to her? Martha had once told her that life never gave you more than you could handle, but what had she ever done to make life think she could handle this?

"Are you done moping, Lo?"

"Moping? You insensitive son of a... no, I will not insult Martha, but you're a jackass!"

Lois jumped up off the couch and stormed into their bedroom, shutting the door behind her. Of all the bullshit she'd ever had to deal with, having Clark 'Mope Until I'm Stupid' Kent say she was moping was at the top of the heap. Her concerns were legitimate worries, not some stupid whining over how to deal with a high school girlfriend!

She paced for a few minutes, wondering how to make him suffer. They were married, so she could not have sex with him for a long time! No, she was fairly certain that was going to happen anyway. She couldn't do him any physical harm, both because Jordan needed one useful parent and she couldn't harm him anyway. All his issues that she could exploit were thirteen years old, so that didn't help.

Damn it, he was untouchable! She just about threw herself back on the bed, but just sat down when she couldn't decide if a flop would hurt AJ. She really needed to study up on pregnancy and figure out what was good, bad and ugly. Did AJ even have fingers yet? She really needed...

No! Anger. Hold on to the anger. He'd called her a mope and there had to be some way to make him suffer for it, but she didn't have the information she needed. She should write stuff down, so if she forgot again she could at least have some sort of reference, not just for her anger but for everything. She could write down stuff about Jordan, and about her pregnancy...

She shook her head and laid back on the bed, covering her face with her hands. Why couldn't she focus? Why did her rage, the emotion she'd always used as a driving force, keep escaping her grasp? Why did she keep thinking about Jordan or about AJ when she should be thinking about revenge?

Oh God, she'd gone soft. She'd woken up as the person she remembered being in the entirely wrong year, spent four days with a husband she only knew as a banter buddy and a daughter that sported her eyes and attitude, not to mention carrying a child inside of her, and she'd lost her edge. Gone was the Lois she'd been, working to be the best reporter in history. She'd been replaced by Mommy Lois, with the surname Kent.

And she'd moped about it. Clark had been right. Instead of facing her concerns like she should, she'd chickened out and started moping. It was unacceptable. She couldn't be just Lois Lane, reporter with a mission, anymore. She had to adapt, and as much as it pained her, she was going to have to let go of some of her anger so she could focus on Jordan and AJ.

She smiled slightly. If it meant raising her children in the best possible home, so be it. It'd be worth it. She could barely believe that she was so looking forward to raising a family, but God help her, now that she had it, she really wanted it.

How had her mind set changed so much in just four days? She was really going to have to study up on hormones during pregnancy, because that had to have something to do with it.

Now all she had to do was suck up her pride and go tell Clark he was right.

Frowning, she sat up and got off the bed. Apologizing to Smallville sucked. She stood up and walked over to the door, pausing with her hand on the knob before walking out of the room, where she found Clark watching Met U play a college basketball game. She sat down next to him, not making eye contact. Watching the game, she sighed and finally got on with the onerous task.

"So, Smallville, it occurs to me that you _may_ have been right about me moping. There's no definitive evidence, per se, but I was exhibiting some of the classic qualities of a moping session. While I maintain that my worries are legitimate, I realize now that I can't be worried about what I can and cannot do. I need to adapt, and I want to, because I love Jordan and AJ. Who knew I could go through such a transformation in four days, but I have.

"So, I'm sorry. I turned my self-doubt into anger that I threw at you when you pointed at something I didn't want to admit."

Lois looked over at Clark, who had a smile playing at the corner of his lips. She roller her eyes and he looked over at her, finally just grinning. "I was kind of expecting this explosion, Lo. There's not really anything to forgive, and I would have sounded more understanding but you told me to be firm on the anti-mopiness."

"Well, good. Let's put me being whiney behind us and move forward." She thought for a moment, trying to figure something out. "Uh, where do we go from here?"

"There's television watching, work and even sleeping. What do you feel like?"

"What do they have that passes for good television these days?"

"I like a show called 'Hawkeye.' It's a show about the character from 'The Last of The Mohicans' before the book happens. Very good stuff."

"Anything less intense sounding?"

Clark stayed silent a moment, brow furrowed. "Well, they abolished reality television in 2015, so that's not really an option. Sitcoms aren't all that common anymore, but there are still some good ones." He looked around a moment, then stopped and looked back at her. "You know what, how about we just put on some old Scrubs episodes. Hard to beat the classics, right?"

Lois didn't really think of Scrubs as a classic, but then again Scrubs was a very recent program in her mind. The series finale had happened in the not so distant past, if it was still June of 2008.

They spent the next couple hours watching Scrubs and snacking on whatever she found in the cupboards, which was an assortment of chips, popcorn and about ten cookies. She felt much better with something in her stomach; the worries about being a good role model waned some as she lost herself in the show.

Finally, they headed off to bed. Lois changed into pajamas and pulled the covers back on her side of the bed. After the last couple nights, she needed to address something with him.

"I keep starting off on one side of the bed and ending up either in the middle of it or on the other side."

Clark walked out of the bathroom, toothbrush sticking out of his mouth. "What?"

"I keep falling asleep on the far side of the bed, away from you, and then I wake up on top of you once morning rolls around. It's... odd, to have my body remember sleeping like this and naturally ending up there when in my mind, it's close to being as strange as strange gets. So, I'm thinking I just cut out the middle and start going to sleep how I keep waking up: in your arms."

She turned and started messing with her pillow while she waited for him to finish with his teeth.

"Are you comfortable with that, Lo?"

"Well, against all odds, waking up with you is pleasant. It's nice, and feels good, so I think I'm just going to fall asleep with that comfort surrounding me instead of trying to get myself to stop. If my body likes it, it can't be _that_ bad, I guess. I'm sure drug addicts say the same thing, but you're not being smoked or injected." As soon as she said it, she wished she could take it back. "That wasn't supposed to be a double entendre."

She couldn't help but grin a little as he broke out a very large smile. "Like I can say no to you. I enjoy having you in my arms, so if you're ok with it, I love the idea. I just thought it'd take you longer to be comfortable with it."

"Yeah, well, this is just one of many adaptations I have to make, and not a big one. Like I said, your arms are a pleasant place to be."

She got into bed, and turned to find him already laying there. Eyeing him a moment, the eager glint in his eye making her fight the urge to roll her eyes, she scooted over next to him and laid her head down on his chest, where she always seemed to wake up. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, settling herself in. His arm closed around her, and she smiled a bit before wiping it off her face. Her stupid, traitorous body was enjoying this way too much.

"Goodnight, Lo."

She sighed, her eyes closing before she spoke. "Night, Smallville."


	19. Chapter 19

---- Chapter 19

"Mommy. Mommy, wake up."

Lois stirred, rubbing a hand across her eyes. She found herself alone in bed, with Jordan pulling on her arm. She turned her head and looked at the clock, finding it to be just before 2am. She looked back to Jordan, whose eyes were wide open.

"What's wrong, Jordan?"

"I can't sleep."

She had become well aware of that as she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, one at a time. She figured she'd gone through numerous nights like this before, but once again found herself wishing she had all her former knowledge, or at least the late nights with Jordan, to draw upon so she could get her back to sleep.

Scooting back, she sat against the bed's headboard and pulled Jordan back with her, setting her on her lap and cradled in her arms. "Why can't you sleep?"

"The closet."

Despite having just been woken, Lois smiled a bit. The closet had been her nemesis as well when she was Jordan's age. "The closet, huh? What's it doing?"

Jordan wriggled deeper into her a bit, wrapping her arms around her. "It's making noises. There's something in it."

Lois hugged Jordan a little tighter, hoping to calm her fears a bit. She didn't remember it well, ironically enough, but she could venture a guess as to what Jordan was feeling. She hated that her baby girl was afraid. She wanted what had worked for her when she was young would work for Jordan. Hopefully she'd believe in special water just as much as she had.

"When I was your age, baby girl, and even a little older, I thought things in my closet wanted to get me. It was a regular closet during the day, but when I was sleeping it just didn't like me at all. I used to run to my mommy, just like you, and she'd hold me just like this. She kept me safe, just like I will always keep you safe.

"But she also had a secret way to make the closet safe so I could go back to sleep. This is a family secret, so you can't tell anybody, ok? Not until you have a little girl or boy of your own once you're married."

Jordan nodded against her chest, and Lois continued. "When there's something in the closet and it wants to get you, you have to make some special water to scare them away. They hate the special water, because it hurts them."

"What do we put in it?"

"Well, you take water and you add a few things in. Some salt, a little milk, a little basil, hot sauce and lemon. You mix it all together and then splash some into the closet with your hands. The things are hurt by the juice and when you touch the water, a little bit of your essence sticks to it and will keep anything scary it touches away forever."

Lois looked down at Jordan and found that she'd fallen asleep in the thirty seconds she'd just spoken, using her chest as a pillow. Thankful that she'd been spared having to make the special water that her mom had always made when she was little, she shifted Jordan to a position where she could carry her more easily. She got off the bed and carried Jordan back to her room, placing her down on the bed softly and giving her a quick peck on the forehead.

Walking back to the bedroom, Lois stopped and grabbed a glass of water to take with her. She wondered where Clark had been needed as she plodded back to bed, sipping at her water and yawning. She laid down, pulling the covers tight under her chin.

An hour later, she groaned and sat up, utterly defeated. She could not get back to sleep, no matter what she did. Counting sheep made her think about cotton which would lead her to thinking about the civil war for some reason, warm milk made her nauseous, and simply willing herself to sleep had no effect on her current state of wakefulness. She gave up and got out of bed, walking towards the door but her reflection stopped her. Not getting enough sleep was WAY more evident now.

She kicked the dresser, since it was obviously at fault for showing her what a poor state she was in, when a little drawer popped out the side. She observed it a moment, wondering how she had never noticed the thing before. It evoked memories of watching too many reruns of Sanford and Son, where they'd hit their cabinet until the secret compartment opened up. Curious, she stuck a hand in and pulled out a little diary looking thing and a bracelet.

She carried both with her out to the living room, where she turned on a light and plopped down into a chair. First, she looked over the bracelet. It was beautiful, looking like an antique that was crafted with care and precision. The stone had an odd way of reflecting the light so that it caught her eye, no matter the angle. She set it aside for further inspection later.

Lois looked at the little diary type thing, wondering if it and the bracelet had always been in there and she'd just never found them before. She opened it up to find her own handwriting on the first page.

Read Me.

She stared at the thing for a moment, a little wary of what could be inside. She had never been one to keep a diary, so why the hell would she have started now? And why leave it somewhere that it may never be found? She shook her head and rolled her eyes at herself, figuring she'd find answers inside.

This is the diary of Lois Lane, soon to be Lois Lane Kent. It's July 4th, 2017, and Clark and I are getting married in just over three months.

This is being written because I don't know when I will forget again and could be of use for living in a new year. My first time forgetting was April 4th, 2013, which is now four years and three months ago. The second time I forgot was January 3rd, 2016, a year and a half ago.

We still don't know what causes this, and I hope that the purpose of this is never necessary, but in case it is, I know this will be of help.

Right now Clark and I are barreling towards our wedding. Chloe is being an absolute terror, getting on me about this detail and that detail, despite the fact that she's pregnant with twins. (She's due in mid December). As I hear told, her wedding was a small affair where the details were minimal and taken care of by Alfred and Bruce, so I'm letting her fret over the details for mine. It keeps me sane and lets me focus on making a life with Clark one day at a time.

Superman (if Clark's holding out about that, go ask him about tights) saved a school bus from falling off a bridge today (I don't know why, but that seems to happen a lot). I can't believe he can do what he does for the world. When he told me who he was, I broke out in laughter and it took Chloe telling me it was true before I believed him. He held out on me until four months after I lost my memory before telling me! I had to suppress the urge to clock him on the jaw so I didn't hurt myself.

But, enough about what's going on. Here's some information that will be of more use to you.

When I most recently lost my memory, Clark and I were working on a story about LexCorp launching a new satellite. You know that nothing good can come from Lex doing anything at all, so we were doing our best to see what was behind the scenes of this, but we came up with zilch.

Clark had left to do some Superman stuff and I decided I wanted to cook a nice dinner (I found that hard to believe) so apparently I went to the store. Clark got home, I was there, he showered, I got home and I had him make cheeseburgers. They never actually got eaten though, because we decided to get engaged instead.

The gist of it is, I proposed. I was disbelieving when I first heard about it, but being with him now, it does kind of make sense. He did actually propose to me this time, but that's another story for another time.

When I woke up the next morning, I thought it was 2008 again. As you may well know, that sucks ass.

Unfortunately, that's as much as I can impart right now. I'll try to update this once a month, or something along those lines so that if I forget in the future, I'll at least be able to know a little. I'm hoping that it won't happen again, but it's me, so I'm banking on my memory being gone again before the new decade at least once, if not twice.

I'm not planning on showing this to Clark; I love the man like crazy, but this is something I need to do for me, if not now then the me in the future.

LL.

Before Lois could read any further, she heard a noise at the door to the balcony and Clark walked in, cape over one arm. He closed the back door slowly and turned, his eyes meeting hers.

"Hey. Is everything alright?"

Lois gave him a small smile and discretely tucked the journal down into the couch cushion. "Jordan woke up a while ago and had issues with her closet, much like I used to. We were going to take care of the scary things, but she fell asleep on me before we could get around to it."

"Special water, eh?"

"I take it you've heard that one a few times before."

"Heard it and used it. Jordan and I made some special water about six months ago when the chief put you on a story out in Gotham and you stayed with Chloe and Bruce. It's always enjoyable to put a bunch of stuff into a bowl of water, but usually the story is good enough to put Jordan back to sleep. I think she just likes hearing it and the reassurance it brings."

Lois stood up and stretched. "Tried and true tradition, Smallville, passed on from mother to child in my mom's family for generations. Not always the closet, but wherever a monster hides, special water takes care of it. Now, how about you get your butt back into bed so I can get back to sleep, because I've tried everything else and it isn't working."

"I can see that." He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her back towards the bedroom before stopping. He went back and picked up the bracelet, handing it to her. "Where'd you find this? You have some special place for it you've never told me about so Jordan can't mess with it."

"I was, uh, looking around in my dresser drawer for a more comfortable bra and this was way back at the back. I thought it looked nice, so I've just been messing with it since."

"You always seem to take to it whenever you find it. It's a pretty special bracelet, you know."

Lois, now more curious than tired, wondered why a bracelet would be important and decided to put a voice to that. "Special? What, is this the first piece of jewelry you ever bought me, Smallville?"

Clark wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her back to the bedroom, closing the door behind him. She went and sat on the bed and he changed in a blink, joining her. "Not exactly. This bracelet was given to me by a girl from the Kawatche tribe, and is meant for my true one."

"Your what?"

"True one, a.k.a. soul mate. See, the paintings in the caves in Smallville are Kryptonian, kind of. They tell of Naman, which is me, and Segeeth, which is my mortal enemy. And then there's also a symbol representing my soul mate. When I found her, I was supposed to give her the bracelet, and so about six months after we first got together, when I really knew you were all I'd ever want because I only ever wanted you, I gave it to you. Since then you've always kept it close by, but only wear it on special occasions, when I've noticed."

"Guess that's why the light reflecting off the stone is so appealing to the eye."

"It does seem to hold some mystic qualities, though I'm not quite sure what. You never tell me what it does, saying that it's special and reaffirms your love for me. After that, my curiosity wanes and I just like to keep you close."

Lois looked at it for another moment before setting it down on her bedside table. She crawled under the covers and laid her head down on Clark when he did the same. She was asleep within seconds.

Waking up, Lois pulled some hair out of her eyes. Sunlight was streaming into the bedroom at a much more alarming rate than it should be early in the morning. She looked at the clock, which said it was ten 'til noon. She sat up, fighting off a yawn. Why the hell hadn't anybody woken her up? Clark should have gotten her up to be with Jordan, and Jordan should have been in with questions, comments and an assortment of childlike curiosities.

Pushing herself off the bed, she walked over to the door and as she was about to open it found a note taped just above the knob. She grabbed it, opening it up and hoping to find an explanation.

Lo,

I took Jordan to the farm this morning. After a couple unsuccessful attempts to wake you, I figured you could use the sleep. Trying to figure out your life has to be tiring, not to mention taking care of a three year old and being pregnant on top of it all. Enjoy the quiet, because it never lasts as long as you think.

Love, Clark

Lois read the note once more, then shrugged and went out to the kitchen, grabbing a box or Cheerio's and digging in, not bothering with a bowl or milk. She turned on the television to a music channel, finding a channel dedicated to hair bands after trying some of the newer stuff. With the abundance of bad music being put out from when she remembered, it didn't shock her to find her ears offended by what was now passing for music.

She plopped down on the couch, thinking about what she wanted to do when she remembered the diary she'd found last night. Digging around in the couch cushions, she finally pulled the thing out and opened it up to where she'd been the previous night.

8/8/17

So, it's been about a month since my first entry in this thing. So far, so good on the schedule.

Nothing catastrophic has happened in the last month, for once. It seems like there's always a major happening when I get involved in a story. Not that this is news to you, since you're me, but I do find it comforting that some things never change.

Superman is still doing his thing. He stopped a fire down at the pier before it could ravage more than a couple of the buildings. There was an incident with John Corben/Metallo, a cyborg that looks like a human. a couple weeks ago, but nothing directly life threatening. It took some time to get the situation under control, but Superman won out and saved the day yet again.

I found my wedding dress at a little boutique in Smallville. To be more accurate, Martha saw it one day, then got Chloe & I there for a fitting. It was perfect, of course. Like anything Martha Kent ever did, found or even thought wouldn't be. I should seriously consider consulting her on story ideas, because she'd probably win me half a dozen Kerth awards.

Ok, so, how about some information that could actually help you...

This one might go without saying, but I'll say it anyway since you're stubborn: Trust Clark.

But more than that, know that he loves you. If I've forgotten again, it hurts me to think what it's done to him, but he still loves you like nothing else in the world. Remember when you talked to Martha about finding your Jonathan? Your Jonathan is Clark. It's as simple as that. Since I don't know how to put my love for Clark down on paper like I do my love for justice, saying that will just have to do,

So if nothing else gets through your thick skull and past your pride when you read this, remember:

Clark is your Jonathan.

Lois read the last part again. She remembered her conversation with Martha about finding her Jonathan but Clark... Clark was her Jonathan? Wow, that was just... wow. She'd been that happy with him?

She closed the diary and sat it down on the coffee table, resting her chin on her hands. She must have meant well when she had decided to keep the diary, but that thing was giving her feelings she was not ready for. Whenever she let her mind stray to Clark she got this warm feeling in her chest, and just because of some stupid words. Why did she have to be such a good writer? Why couldn't she have been average?

She stuffed the diary away after that, afraid she'd read something that would make her all the more unsure about how she felt about Clark. It was then that he opened the front door, walking in as he pushed his glasses up on his nose. She frowned a bit when that warm feeling in her chest came back, annoyed that her body was once again trying to dictate how things were going to be.

He smiled when he found her on the couch. She followed his eyes as he glanced at the television, which was still blaring the hair bands channel.

"Hey! How's the silence been treating you?"

Lois smirked and muted the music. "Very funny, Smallville. Aren't you supposed to be at work?"

"I figured I'd come home for lunch, see if I could scrounge something together for us to eat. What sounds good to you?"

"Well, I just ate a bunch of Cheerio's, so I'm thinking pizza. Why am I thinking pizza? Who knows, but when you asked me what I wanted, it popped into my head."

"Pizza it is. I'll be back in about ten minutes."

Ten minutes later, Lois watched him walk back into the apartment carrying two huge pizza's. He put them down on the kitchen table, opening the top one and then setting it aside before holing the one that had been underneath it out to her. "Check to be sure, but there should be bacon, Canadian bacon, pepperoni, Italian sausage, pork sausage and hamburger on there."

She opened it up, the smell hitting her and nearly making her add drool as one of the toppings. She grabbed a slice and took a bite, moaning in pleasure embarrassingly loudly but not caring. She finished her bite and decided she should thank him "Smallville, this may be the best thing I've ever had in my mouth. Thank you."

"No need to thank me, Lo. Just one of my many duties as Super husband."

After she'd polished off her third slice, Lois decided she could wait a few minutes for number four. She wanted to talk to Clark first. She walked over from her position at the table and sat down next to him at the bar.

"Smallville, I... well, thank you."

"You don't have to thank me again for the food, Lois."

"No. It's just... you're amazing. You take care of me when I have no idea what's going on, of Jordan so that she isn't aware that I have no idea what's going on, and of the whole world, which probably doesn't know how lucky it is to have you. So... thank you."

"Being there for you and for Jordan is the most important thing I'll ever do, and the same is true for AJ once he or she is born. You've given me a life I never thought I'd have, made me feel love so intense that it floors me and then picks me up again afterwards. I can only be there for the world because I have you. I know you don't remember us, the couple, but I hope that you'll get to know just how special we are together."

The smile that accompanied that statement nearly melted her. He put his pizza away in the fridge, kissed her on top of her head as he walked by and went back to work.

She just sat at the table, staring into space as her mind tried to process what her heart was telling it. She knew it wasn't logical, she knew it wasn't something that made any sense, but she knew it. It wasn't going to be two months before she fell in love with him. It wasn't even going to be one month. It had been days and she was falling in love with him.

She was going to be lucky if she wasn't head over heels in love with him after a week, and as nervous as it made her feel, she still had a smile on her face she couldn't fight, and she wasn't sure she wanted to.


	20. Chapter 20

---- Chapter 20

After a few minutes, she decided to fight the stupid smile.

The damn thing was all Clark's fault. Somehow, it had to be his fault. He'd changed the dynamic, made her move away from her comfort zone and find a different zone that was far less comfortable but included him. He always had to be involved in things, but why couldn't he have let her be? Why couldn't his good nature and good looks have left her alone so she could have gotten a better grip on being in a new year with a daughter? Most of all, why couldn't she stop feeling all warm and fuzzy about him?

Lois spent the rest of her afternoon sitting and staring at walls, trying to come to grips with these stupid, unnecessary feelings she didn't want. Why would she want them? He's Clark! Plaid, mopey, annoying, and just general blah qualities. No need for any of them.

But he hadn't worn any plaid since she'd forgotten, he certainly hadn't moped and the most annoying thing he'd done was to be understanding and make her feel cared for. Jackass.

Groaning, Lois got up off the couch, music once again blaring from the television so she could think in peace. She meandered over to the kitchen and pulled out Clark's pizza box, having finished hers in the numerous hours of mumbling and trying to figure out what the hell was going on in her head. The thing was being more secretive than usual. This must be what happens when one doesn't say everything out loud. It sends you into a mental tailspin and you start falling in love with men that are good for you.

She smacked herself in the head, eyes squeezed shut. She hadn't just thought that. It had been four days, so she couldn't possibly be falling in love with him. Yeah, he was everything she could hope for and more, and he was a great father to Jordan... but no! No love. Not allowed. When she thought Smallville, she did not think love, she thought love.

Son of a bitch!

Pregnancy brain! That had to be it. In the limited time she'd spent with pregnant women, she'd heard about pregnancy brain. Not always thinking straight, forgetfulness and all that jazz. Plus, all the hormones were probably making her feel good and bringing on all the warm fuzzy nonsense. That would explain it all. Yes, she could pass all this off as pregnancy brain with a side of hormone induced warm fuzziness that would go away once AJ was born.

She wondered what AJ would be like. While the initials would probably stick with him or her for life, what would he or she be? If the baby was a little boy, would he look like his father and have her naughty streak, just as Jordan seemed to? Or would he be just like Clark in demeanor, shy at first but one of the kindest people in the world? Or could the baby be a girl that was like Clark?

Lois hit her head against a counter a few times, finishing the cold pizza as she did so. Where the hell had all that come from? That HAD to be pregnancy brain in all its glory, although instead of warm fuzziness for Clark it was for AJ. Though, since AJ was the cause, it seemed to make sense that she was warm and fuzzy about him or her.

Most women seemed to love their unborn children, and she felt no different. She definitely had some issues on how this whole pregnancy thing was making her think, but was quite sure all she knew about AJ was that she loved him or her. It wasn't something turning on in her head like with Jordan, just a quiet revelation she'd come to have.

Looking at the clock on the fridge, which was becoming less strange every time she saw it, she noted that Clark and Jordan would probably be home in an hour or so. Considering they have a daughter, she doubted that he'd be pulling the late nights like she once had almost every night. Not only that, but she doubted that she'd be pulling the late nights anymore.

How had having Jordan changed everything? Did she have to be on time for everything now? Was she always being mindful of setting a good example? She couldn't go overboard on stories, working into the wee hours of the night like she used to, but was she still a risk taker? Could she let herself put everything on the line for a story like she once had or was she a more conventional reporter now? She shuddered as the word conventional ran through her mind.

So many questions, so many answers she couldn't provide for herself. Why couldn't something, _anything_, come back to her? Even if it's just the number of her bank account, at least she'd know something. She wasn't greedy. Well, that was a lie. She wanted every memory back she'd ever lost. Then maybe she could be who she was supposed to be.

No, she wasn't going to start with that again. She was adapting, that was all she could do. No use brooding about it.

Lois decided she needed something more pleasant to think about. She could think about Jordan, but that would just leave her wondering what she didn't remember. There was always Clark, but that would just lead back to where she'd already been and if she kept on that she might just have to hit herself for being too annoying. AJ seemed like a safe topic to think about, but that also probably led back to Clark.

Chloe and Bruce. There was a safe topic. Short, spunky reporter married to tall, dark and handsome man that brooded. Three kids with another on the way. What were their names... Jack, Aly and Liz. She wondered what those children were like. Did they look like Chloe but stay all quiet and thoughtful like Bruce? Or did they look like Bruce while inheriting their mother's sense of curiosity? Anything involving her cousin's inquisitiveness would be dangerous, given Bruce's secret.

She thought about that a little longer, but finally decided she needed something better to occupy herself. All the thinking hadn't killed nearly enough time, and she was really wanting to see Jordan. Maybe she could hide in the hugs her baby girl liked to give.

Shaking her head at the thought, Lois walked back over to where she'd left the diary and picked it up, deciding that reading another entry might keep her distracted.

9/25/17

Month three: check. Maybe I can actually keep up with this, who knows.

Twenty three days until I become Mrs. Smallville. Unbelievable how things happen, isn't it? Since I'm writing this to a version of myself that probably does not remember any of the time leading up to the wedding, marrying Clark probably does sound unbelievable. I talked about this last time, though, so how about something new.

Right now, the big story at the Daily Planet is the upcoming summit on the world economy being held in Metropolis. How they decided to hold it in Metropolis, I'll never know. When they started it a few years back, as research has told me, they decided that it would be held in the capitol of a nation. We both know Metropolis certainly isn't that.

A clue, however, is the fact the Lex has been announced as the key note speaker for the event. Clark and I are on the story, but so far haven't been able to uncover anything shady. It's typical Luthor style: have something that is supposed to help the world change its policies to benefit you. If the world tried to end, Lex would either be at the center of it happening or demanding it stop because it was hurting business.

In lighter news, Chlo and Bruce have surprised us with an early wedding present: the Justice League is going to cover Metropolis for Superman so we can have a honeymoon, which we'd both thought wasn't happening. Not only that, but Bruce owns a villa in Spain and is giving it to us for the duration of our time we're there. The staff will be on hand, and we will be free to enjoy ourselves and use 'Clarkie Airlines' to go anywhere in Europe a little more quickly than we otherwise could.

I know I told you Chloe is pregnant with twins in the last entry, and I just have to say that she is getting huge quickly. I don't remember her pregnancy with Jack, of course, but she says this one is only tougher because of the size. She claims everything else wasn't or isn't nearly as bad. Despite that, I'm almost tempted to have her sit beside me during the wedding instead of standing so her back doesn't make her suffer. It's been giving her fits because she's a regular sized woman with a very big load to carry.

Considering she's under three months from her due date and looks as big as the Wayne Manor, I'm a little scared to find out if there's a history of twins way back in our family that would make me prone to also having twins. I can't think of anybody recently that's had twins in the side of the family we're related on, though, besides Chloe. I can only imagine what waking up without my memory while pregnant would be like. To come awake one morning with a pregnancy induced belly I don't remember gaining... I hope it's something that never happens.

On the topic of Superman, he and I both had a close call a few days ago. I was taken hostage by a wannabe terrorist group bent on ridding the world of journalists not supporting their cause. After being held for a day, Superman came to rescue me but somehow they'd acquired kryptonite. We escaped, obviously, but Clark was in rough shape. They beat the hell out of him once they found the kryptonite worked as well as advertised. Next time you see Bruce, thank him for that save, as well as the Green Arrow and Flash.

Once again, we come to the time where I try to be helpful. I know it's difficult to trust the words of a woman that no longer exists, in that you probably don't remember any of what I'm writing down right now, but trust me when I say that the bracelet is a good thing.

I tried to keep the bracelet and this journal together, because of what the bracelet does, which If you have not experienced it yet, I will explain.

The bracelet is Kryptonian, as Clark has told you if he's seen you with it. The first time you wear it, though, you will see Clark's biological mother Lara. How it works, I do not know, because it's been passed down by the Kawatche for generations and had no way of being in contact with her on Krypton.

Fact of the matter is, though, the first time I wore it, she appeared before me and told me... well, I guess you either know it already or will soon. It will happen, because I apparently confided in Chloe about what happened the first time I tried it on, and she said it was the exact same thing that happened this time. Our best guess is that it can sense the memory loss.

After that experience, the best way to describe it is a conduit. It let's you feel some of what Clark's feeling. It feeds his emotions to you, more or less. The first time this happens can be a little overwhelming, so if you've done it without reading this, I hope you didn't do anything embarrassing.

Think of it like this: I'm sure you remember Chloe hacking into databases and the such when we investigated stories. She'd make the connection to the other computer, main frame, whatever, and syphon off the information we need.

Putting the bracelet on is like making a connection to Clark's mind, but not having any say in what syphons off. It's why I don't wear it all the time, like I want to. Were I to do so, it would be like having a constant stream of Clark going into my head, which would be pleasant but strange. Having to distinguish between feelings can be tricky when he's particularly emotional, and I've yet to find a way to bury what I get from him enough to not let it effect me.

The upside to this, of course, is that you have a way to know he's safe. I've never had the bracelet on and not felt something from him. Whenever he's in a fight for his life., I hold on to the thing because it tells me he's alive, even when things look bleak. I don't know what I'd do if I ever felt nothing from it.

Clark's biological mother? What? But how...

She'd have to think on it later. She took the journal and went into the bedroom, picking up the bracelet from where she'd left it and eyeing it a moment before deciding she'd find another time to try it. She went over and kicked the dresser a couple times, opening up the secret drawer and placed the journal and bracelet in it before pushing it shut.

No sooner had she done that than the front door opened, ushering in a loud Jordan and Clark, who were both singing Old Macdonald like it was going out of style. She leaned against the doorframe and smiled as she watched the two, Jordan on his shoulders, gesture wildly as they sang. When they finished, Clark put Jordan down on the ground and each turned and bowed to her. She rewarded them with a few claps.

"Well, if it isn't a couple of the von Trapp's, come to regale me with songs. You two make quite the pair."

"We sound good, right mommy?"

"You sound great, baby girl." Lois walked over to Jordan and pulled her up into a hug, which was reciprocated very quickly. "Did you have a good day with your grandma?"

She felt her nod into her shoulder. "We did lot of stuff. I got to run around with Krypto, and feed the horses, and even jump in some hay! It was fun!"

Lois set her back down and was promptly told the bathroom needed a visit. Jordan left and she looked at Clark, who was in the kitchen looking at remnants of his pizza. "Krypto?"

"He's the dog we got when Shelby went to the big doggie playground in the sky in 2016. Since you'd said I got to name the next one Krypto when you found Shelby, I did just that. And believe it or not, he loves you more than Shelby did." He turned and looked at her. "Now, quick question: if we'd been another ten minutes getting home, would I have _any_ pizza left?"

She could tell he was joking by the grin he wore. She smirked at him. "Who knows? Anything you don't eat is fair game, especially since I am carrying our child. Think of it as your sacrifice since I gain all the wait and have all the discomfort."

He laughed, shaking his head at her logic. "If that's what it takes to keep my pregnant wife happy, then I guess I'll just have to live with it. Did you do anything besides eat since lunch?"

"Believe it or not, I did daydream a little bit about what AJ is going to be like."

"Picturing your looks and my personality on a little boy?"

"That was one of the combinations, yes. Whatever he or she is, I must say that I find myself quite in love with him or her. All warm and fuzzy, much unlike anything I do actually remember."

"I'm glad. I would find it very unfortunate if you couldn't fit AJ into your heart. So, what do we want for dinner?"

Lois thought for a second before something scrumptious popped into her head. "A greasy cheeseburger and some fries sounds great. There a dive around here that we can all go to?"

She watched Clark think for a minute, impatient for him to say something. He finally broke his silence. "There are a few places we could go, though only one of them is really somewhere I'd be comfortable taking Jordan. It doesn't look like your traditional greasy burger joint, but I think it'll do the trick."

An hour later, they were all sitting in a well lit, clean place that Clark insisted was just what Lois was looking for. "You obviously have a new definition of 'dive' these days, Smallville. In fact, this place is everything a dive should not be. If the burgers are anything less than greasy, I will not be held accountable for my actions."

When the waitress came around, Lois ordered a small meal for Jordan and enough food to feed herself and a large man before letting Clark order anything. He only got enough to feed a large man, which made sense to her but was going to make it more difficult if she wanted to steal anything from him. Her appetite the way it was, it seemed inevitable.

She wanted to be surprised with herself that she was ok with eating as much as she was, but she knew that was silly. She didn't want to be one of those women that gained sixty pounds while pregnant, but she also wasn't going to deny herself the experience of eating whatever she wanted to whenever she wanted to. She figured she'd eventually have to cut back on how much she was eating, or at least on the snacking every twenty minutes. Maybe Chloe would have a good tip on how to control herself.

Making small talk over dinner, the meal passed quickly enough and before she knew it, they were headed back to the apartment. Apparently time passed more quickly when she was listening to Jordan and Clark while stuffing herself full of food that was just as greasy as promised. That, or she just needed to pay better attention. Once she got back to the Planet, she was going to have to keep an eye out for details again.

Back home, Lois had changed back into the sweats she'd spent most of the day in. She'd spent a couple hours coloring and laughing with Jordan in the little girl's room before she'd started tiring out. She and Clark had put her to bed and were currently sitting quietly in the living room, and while reading the paper was enjoyable, she was bored.

"Let's do something, Smallville."

She looked over at him as he pushed his glasses back up on his nose and looked away from his laptop. "What sounds like fun, Lo? Movie?"

"A movie would be good. Not exactly doing something, but it'll get the job done. What do we have around here?"

"All your favorites from before the attack, as well as everything you liked enough since then to buy. They're all in the drawers in the coffee table, so take a look and find something you'd enjoy."

Lois did just that, rifling through movies she did and did not recognize. She finally settled on Ray, which seemed like something both she and Clark could enjoy. She handed the case to him, not knowing what went where anymore. He quickly worked the system, which appeared to be something like a flash drive that plugged into the television. She didn't think she'd have found how to work that out if she'd tried.

She settled in on the couch, getting comfortable when Clark sat down next to her. He looked ready to scoot up close to her. She rolled her eyes and beat him to the punch, moving in close to him. He put and arm around her shoulders and she leaned her head against him. The last thing she thought about was how annoying it was that he was so comfortable, no matter where they were, before she fell asleep.


	21. Chapter 21

----Chapter 21

Lois woke up with a start, looking around the room. Blinking a few times, she found dull light was peeking into the room, seeming to indicate a gray day outside. Sitting all the way up, she yawned and stretched, pushing the covers off and pulling herself towards the edge of the bed. She planted her feet on the floor and pushed herself up off the bed, stretching again as she did so. She heard the shower running, figuring that was where Clark was, and headed out of the room to go check on Jordan.

Peeking her head in, she found Jordan was still asleep, only half covered up with her legs splayed out at angles she thought might be physically impossible for anybody that didn't take yoga five times a week. She closed the door and headed back towards her room, not sure if she wanted to go back to sleep or eat some breakfast. Now that she was up, it was probably best she stayed up. Once Clark headed off, she'd have to be awake for Jordan anyway.

She didn't remember going to bed last night, but deduced she must have fallen asleep once the movie started. Clark had just plugged in the movie Ray but she couldn't recall seeing any of it once she'd snuggled into Clark's chest. The damn thing was better than sleeping pills!

Sitting on the bed and lost in thought, she'd failed to hear Clark walk out of the shower, clad in only a towel around his waist and looking very surprised to see her awake. Her eyes never made it as far as his face, traveling only slightly above his towel and locking on his abs. She knew her mouth was open for no good reason, but she lacked the brain power to shut it. Had she been able to talk, she doubted she would have uttered anything other than wow.

In the space of a blink, Clark went from nearly naked to in a suit, tightening his tie with his jacket folded over one of his arms. "Sorry about that. I thought you'd still be asleep. I wasn't going to get you up for another fifteen or twenty minutes."

Lois snapped her jaw shut as he spoke, trying to regain the use of her brain. "No, I ah... I woke up a couple minutes ago and went to check on Jordan. She's still asleep and in a position that can't be comfortable for an adult."

"Ok then. You want some breakfast?"

"Yeah." She wanted to put some butter on his abs and lick it off. A head shake banished that nonsense. "How about some buttered toast, scrambled eggs and bacon?"

"I like the sound of that. Makes my mouth water just thinking about it." She knew how he felt.

He offered her a hand to help her up, which she took, and they walked out into the kitchen. She leaned up against the counter and watched him go about making the food, his tie tucked into his shirt as he seasoned the eggs and checked on the bacon. How could a man look so good in a pair of pants? It just wasn't fair!

"Lo?"

"Yeah, what?"

"I asked you if you wanted milk or one of the various juices we have."

"Oh, uh, apple juice is fine."

He turned back around and she went back to thinking about how life apparently had plans for her that she didn't get to fight against. Not that she really wanted to fight against him when he looked like he did, but she still liked having some say, at least.

Things could be worse, though. She could have ended up in the marriage of convenience she figured she was destined for, living with a man half as good looking as Clark who lacked all his kindness and love. When it came right down to it, she knew that he loved her. He hadn't said it to her directly, at least not that she recalled, probably so as not to freak her out. But the way he acted and touched her, not to mention the way he spoke about the way she made him feel... she thought back to the diary saying Clark was her Jonathan, and the way he acted around her was the same way she'd seen Mr. & Mrs. Kent act.

He smiled at her as he placed a plate of eggs, toast and bacon in her hands and she sat down at the table, starting in on her food when he sat down next to her. For the first time in ages, she was able to be comfortable in a silence between the two of them. Clark was the first to speak.

"So, are you looking forward to coming back to the Planet tomorrow?"

"Definitely. I know that tomorrow is probably just going to be me getting acquainted with the new systems and maybe doing some research, but at least I'll have some idea of what's going on. I love Jordan, irrationally considering this is my fifth day of knowing she's my daughter, but I'm just making it up as I go with her. Motherhood comes much less naturally to me than journalism."

"As far as I'm concerned, Lo, you haven't missed a step with her. She's happy, knows that you love her, hasn't been hurt in any way and gets the leftovers from her three square meals a day finished off by you. Believe it or not, that's good because you've given yourself food poisoning previously by eating food you tried to reheat. It was quite the feat, really."

Lois swallowed her last slice of bacon and looked at him incredulously. "How could I possibly give myself food poisoning from reheating something?"

"Nobody knows. That's why it was quite the feat."

At that, they were greeted by a small but strong yawn as Jordan walked into the room. She walked straight to Lois and hugged herself to her lap. Lois looked at Clark, smirking. "She must be mine, she wakes up the same way. If she starts complaining about a lack of coffee, she'll be _me_."

She bent over and placed a kiss on top of Jordan's head, ruffling her hair a few times as Jordan rubbed her face into her lap. "I'm tired."

"Me too, baby girl. Maybe we'll take a nap together later, ok? I think you should have some of the breakfast daddy made right now, though, to help you wake up."

"Ok."

Lois moved Jordan over to Clark's lap, got up and scooped up some eggs on to a plate and was about to stick them in the microwave when she remembered what Clark said. "Uh, Clark, they could use a little bit more heat. How long should I warm them up?"

"Ten seconds ought to do it."

She gave them a ten second blast and they came out steaming. Blowing on them for a second, she grabbed a fork from the drawer and placed the plate in front of Jordan's spot at the table, where Clark was setting the sleepy child in her chair. At the smell of the food in front of her, she perked up, grabbed the fork and started digging in. Yet another eerie similarity. Had Clark donated any genes relating to her personality?

Lois went back over to the fridge, grabbing the milk, which smelled awful to her, and a glass and filling it up for Jordan, who smiled at her when she put it down next to the plate.

"Thank you."

"My pleasure, Jordan."

Lois sat down again, watching Jordan eat. She'd been surprised that once she'd embraced the fact that Jordan was in fact hers, that everything she did entranced her. She wanted to take in everything that she did, making note of how she would crinkle her nose whenever she was concentrating on coloring or drawing a picture. She would just smile whenever they locked eyes, and it made Lois wonder she could have not known this was her little girl at first sight.

When she felt Clark's hand on her shoulder, she snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him over her shoulder.

"I'm headed off to work. Should I stop by for lunch, or are you looking forward to a nice, long day free from the clutches of Clark, the husband that hovers in so many ways?"

"I can't speak for hovering that involves you not being on the ground, but as far as being around me, you're hovering just the right amount. I don't feel crowded, because all the attention you give me is out of love. I know that it hurts you to not say it and know I can't say it back..."

"Lo, please, don't worry about me. I'm not the one that's been through the severely traumatic experience. I'm fine because we have the kind of love that gets through this kind of thing like it's just another bump in the road. I don't say that to pressure you into feeling anything, that's just the way it is. The sky is blue, we have a daughter that enjoys giggling and our love can get through anything."

Lois smiled, looking down at the table before she could look back up at Clark. "If anybody else were to say something like that, I would just write it off as a cheesy line. With you, I actually believe it. I can see why it's so easy for me to fall in love with you whenever I lose my memory."

Her eyes went wide, realizing what she'd just insinuated. "Not that I... I mean, uh, you know..."

A hand over her mouth cut off her stumbling speech. "I understand what you mean, Lois. You think I'm sweet, cute and lovable but don't see me like _that_ yet."

Oh God, she was seeing him like that. Why was she seeing him like that?

"There's no rush on this, Lois. I know that you're still adjusting and getting used to being a mother, so take your time. I'll always be here."

God she hoped her eyes weren't gazing at him longingly. He was too damn good for words and she needed to look away so her eyes would stop looking like they were speaking volumes. She couldn't pull away, though, and was about ready to jump up and lay one on him when he pulled his hand from her mouth and gave her an affectionate rub on the shoulder.

"I'll probably just eat lunch at the Planet today. Jordan, let's see how well you hug."

Lois watched him pull her into a hug for a moment before setting her back down on her chair. "I'll see you girls tonight. Jordan, only give your mom a little grief for me today."

"Ok, daddy."

The rest of the morning went smoothly, with Jordan keeping Lois busy enough so that Clark only entered her thoughts once every ten minutes or so. If he'd taken another second, she was scared to think about what Jordan would have seen them doing.

When she wasn't thinking about Clark or doing something with Jordan, her mind wandered to the bracelet. Her curiosity was starting to get the better of her. She wanted to put it on and see Clark's biological mother, as implausible as that seemed. How could a bracelet have a function like that? She figured she probably wouldn't really believe it until she saw it.

The problem was, when would she get the chance try the thing? How long would this vision of Lara last? Jordan would probably go down for a nap little while after lunch, so maybe she could try it then. She just hoped that it wasn't going to be some drawn out thing that ended up giving her a concussion. She'd been over the limit on those things before getting beaten within an inch of her life and living a bunch of years she couldn't remember.

Lois and Jordan both inhaled lunch, though for separate reasons. They'd both been running around all morning, one working a big appetite up to voracious and the other just liked to eat, something she'd mostly inherited from her mother. They'd decided to make grilled cheese sandwiches, something Lois found she could actually handle, accompanied by some ice cream Lois found stashed in the back of the freezer.

Much like she had the last few days, Jordan followed lunch with a long series of yawns and droopy eyes after about an hour or two. Lois decided to swoop in. "Looks like you could use a nap, baby girl."

She picked her up, which was met with a few verbal protestations. "Not sleepy. Wanna..." She yawned widely, interrupting her sentence, "...play."

"Yeah, I'm not buying it, kiddo. But, I will cut you a deal. If you take a nap, I will help you write out the story for your princess drawings."

The only response was a halfhearted mumble and head nod into Lois's shoulder. She took Jordan into her room and laid her down gently on the bed, then covered her up with the sheets. She placed a light kiss on her head before walking out of the room, closing the door behind her.

She walked straight to the dresser, kicking it a couple times and hitting it once before the secret drawer opened, all the while fighting the urge to look skyward and say something about joining Elizabeth. She grabbed the bracelet, leaving the diary in there this time. If she passed out after it did its thing, she didn't want it found and rifled through by Clark. It wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, but if 2017 Lois was keeping it just for her, she would try and do the same.

When Lois got back out into the living room, she went to put the bracelet on but hesitated. It was just a bracelet, for crying out loud! She must have been crazy in 2017, thinking that this thing was causing her to see a woman named Lara that said she was Clark's mother.

Her husband was from another planet and she couldn't believe this? Who was she trying to kid by pretending anything in her life was normal?

She slipped the bracelet on, holding her breath as she waited for it to do something, anything. After a few seconds, she started to breathe again. Maybe she had the wrong bracelet? It certainly didn't feel any different than any ordinary bracelet. Maybe a little warmer... ok, maybe strangely warm.

Lois looked down at her arm to find the thing glowing, which probably explained the strange warmth. It wasn't getting warmer, but the glow was getting bright enough that she had to close her eyes and turn her head away. She held her arm out straight, trying to get the bracelet as far away as possible, which was about a whole two feet.

The glow died down and she opened her eyes again to be greeted by the view of a tall woman with raven black hair smiling down at her. She was in a floor length shimmering dress, and seemed to have a benevolence in her stature. Lois stood up slowly from the chair she'd planted herself in.

"Hello, Lois. I am Lara, Kal-EL's mother."

Lois gawked. The diary had been right! She worked her jaw a couple times before she was able to speak. "You... you know my name?"

"I do. The connection the bracelet makes with the heart of Kal-El's true one allows me this information."

"But, but, you're dead! I know that sounds blunt, but it's true! How is this possible?"

"The life of the woman you see has passed, yes, but before she died she made this so that the woman he came to love as Jor-El loved Lara would know a little about where he comes from."

"O...Ok then. Well, uh, what do I need to hear?"

"Krypton was a world of good people, much as Earth is. We had our problems, and in the end over confidence was our undoing. Jor-El worked to fix the problems and warn people that Krypton was in danger of being destroyed, but when he found his efforts would be in vain designed a vessel so we could send our infant son to your people, in hopes he would be able to show your world to a better way than our end.

"Despite his amazing physical strengths on your world, he has the same feelings, the same emotional vulnerabilities as a human. Your love is a key to keep him strong enough to be a pinnacle of good. Love him and keep his heart safe, Lois, and your world shall be a better place than Krypton was."

"No pressure there," Lois mumbled.

"Your connection to Kal-El is beyond that of the physical world, Lois. You are a part of his destiny, a part of his soul that makes him complete." The face on the woman softened, surprising Lois. "Thank you for loving my son."

The image vanished, and Lois was left staring into space. She made him strong enough to be a pinnacle of good? Their connection went beyond that of the physical world?

There was one question that she couldn't stop from reverberating around in her head like crazy: How was she good enough for him?


	22. Chapter 22

----Chapter 22

Lois stared at the wall for an hour after Lara had disappeared. She'd taken the bracelet off right away, wanting to avoid getting the stream of Clark's emotions the diary had said she would. She was in no way ready for that kind of connection with him.

She finally snapped out of her daze when Jordan woke up from her nap and joined her on the couch, turning on the television and laying her head down on Lois's lap. Lois stroked her daughter's hair slowly as she lost herself in the children's show that had been turned on. They sat in silence for a while before Jordan spoke.

"I'm thirsty, mommy."

Lois looked down to find Jordan had turned to look up at her. Smiling down, she nodded. "What would you like?"

"Apple juice, please."

As she stood up, she tossed a giggling little girl over her shoulder and walked out to the kitchen. After setting a glass on the counter, she pulled the juice out of the fridge and poured out a glass, taking a quick swig from the bottle before putting it back in its place. She finally put Jordan down, letting her sit on the counter while she drank her juice.

"So, how'd you sleep, baby girl?"

"Ok. May I have a snack?"

Lois looked at the clock on the fridge, trying to remember when they'd eaten lunch. It had only been a few hours. It would still be a few hours until Clark came home for the day. She thought about what they had and finally acquiesced when she decided she could use a snack as well.

Opening the fridge again, she found an assortment of fruits and vegetables in the drawers, and figured that was a lot better for a growing girl and growing fetus than something like chips, ice cream or what she really wanted, two chocolate chip cookies with whipped cream in the middle. Good god, that sounded amazing... but no. Less crap, more nutrition.

She pulled out an orange, tossing it a couple times from hand to hand before setting it down on the counter. She rifled through a few drawers before finding what resembled a peeler and walked back over to the orange. It ended up being the right utensil and the orange was quickly peeled and sliced into small slices. She handed one to Jordan before popping one into her mouth.

They finished the orange quickly, and while Jordan was sated Lois was still fighting hunger. She wondered if she was ever going to stop being hungry until AJ was born. She reached into the fridge again and pulled out an apple. She washed it off and was about to take a bite when she was interrupted.

"Could I get down now, mommy?"

Lois looked over to Jordan, who was still sitting on the counter and swinging her legs. "Sorry. Mommy got distracted by food, which might happen a lot until the new baby is born." She put Jordan down on the ground and watched her take off towards her room. Lois grabbed her apple, and after thinking about it for a second, a sharp knife to cut off pieces.

She was about halfway through the apple, watching an episode of Friends on TV Land, which just made her feel old, when she sliced her finger with the knife. She shook her hand a couple times and went to inspect the cut. She looked at it as it started bleeding, then starting pulling itself back together. A second later, her skin was unblemished and it was as if the cut had never existed.

Her finger had just healed itself. She'd cut it with a knife, and it had healed within seconds.

Lois made herself blink after a long period of staring at her finger with very wide eyes. Why... why had it done that? How could something like that happen? Not that she was against having things heal very quickly, but it was very, very abnormal and NOT something she'd ever had happen before.

Clark. Clark would know what was going on. He remembered all their years together so of course he would know what was going on. He had to know what was going on.

She searched around for the cell phone Clark had said was hers. After turning over half their bedroom, she finally found it in the drawer of his night stand. She scrolled through the names until she got to number for his desk.

It rang a couple times before he picked up.

"Clark Kent's desk."

"Clark! It's Lois and..."

"Hey Lo! How're you and Jordan doing?"

"She's doing great, playing in her room at the moment. I, on the other hand, am very confused and a little freaked out?"

"What? Why?"

"I was eating an apple. I didn't want to take bites, though I can't remember why not, so I grabbed a knife and was cutting off slices. Well, in so doing I ended up cutting my finger. Upon inspection, it healed. It closed up and looked like it had never existed, Smallville! How and why?"

"Lois, calm down. This is completely normal, based on your pregnancy with Jordan."

She nearly threw the phone when he said that it was normal. She appreciated that it was a subjective term, but this was ludicrous! "Are you kidding me? This is not normal, Clark!"

"Look, I can't really talk about this here. Do you want me to come home so we can talk about it?"

It didn't require much thought for her. "Yes, please. Thank you, Clark."

"You're welcome. I'll be home soon."

Twenty minutes later, Lois thought she may have tapped grooves into the coffee table with her fingers. She couldn't stop fidgeting, despite her best efforts. She couldn't decide if she was nervous about hearing what Clark had to say, or just really freaked out. When she heard the door opening, she let out a relieved sigh and hopped up, walking towards the door to greet him.

"So? What's wrong with me, Smallville?"

The way he was smiling at her, she decided he wasn't taking this situation seriously enough, even if he did know what was going on. "Enough with the grinning, Smallville! If you haven't noticed the fidgeting, I'm freaked out!"

He put his hands on her shoulders a second then pulled her into a hug. She let herself melt into his embrace, which calmed her down. Wait, why was a hug from Clark calming her down? Yeah, it was nice, well, really nice and comfortable when he lightly rested his chin on her head... no! She had to focus on the crazy healing finger and get an explanation. She was about to push away when he started talking, as if he'd sensed her intentions.

"How much do you know about the function of the placenta during pregnancy, Lois?"

"I know there is one." She thought for a second. "That about covers it. Pregnancy was never a topic I was all that interested in until about five days ago when I learned I was pregnant."

"Ok. Basically, Almond Joy's blood supply goes through the placenta and it sifts out all the waste, which goes into your blood to be gotten rid of. At the same time he or she is getting nutrients, oxygen and antibodies from your blood that also goes through the placenta. We assume you get your healing from the transfer of nutrients and waste between the babies blood and yours."

"Huh. Just how much is some?"

"Small cuts and the like are gone more or less as soon as they happen. Bigger things heal more quickly too, but it's not an instantly thing. You broke your ankle when pregnant with Jordan, and it was healed in about eight hours. This does not mean you should stop being careful, just that when you get hurt, you'll be ok sooner."

All in all, Lois thought that it seemed like a satisfactory explanation. It was about as plausible as anything she could ever come up with, and they'd probably discussed this with other people to figure it out. It'd have to do.

What she really wanted to know was why she was having such a ridiculous Thursday. First there was that whole Lara thing, which, ok, she'd brought upon herself. She wished the her in 2017 that had written about it would have just kept her pen to herself. And then, she finds out that because she's pregnant with a baby that would heal quickly once born, if it could even get hurt, she had the ability to a lesser degree until then. Weird.

She was still in Clark's embrace, which was still being disturbingly calming. She was beginning to think that people with the last name Kent had her under some sort of spell where they all make her happy and feel loved. It was definitely an unfair advantage they had, that's for sure.

"Fine," she mumbled into Clark's chest. "I guess that all makes sense and you've probably done more research on the topic. You could have told me about it, though."

"Had I, you'd have wanted to test it, and I was hoping to avoid that."

She pushed her head away from him and looked up into his eyes. "Wanted to test it? What was I going to do, stab myself in the hand, cry out in pain and then be all giddy when it healed?"

"No, but based on past experience, you'd have made a couple small cuts on your palm and then take some unnecessary risks when we're out in the field."

"Oh, I would not... ok, I would do the unnecessary risks thing, but that's just me!"

"Right, and I wasn't going to give you any more incentive to do so."

Lois finally removed herself from his grasp and walked back over to the couch, sitting down and laying her had back on the cushions. She did feel much better now that she knew why crazy things were happening. "Are you going back to work, Smallville?"

"No. I told Perry I'd be spending the rest of the day with you and Jordan. He's looking forward to getting you back at the Planet tomorrow, by the way."

"Well, I am the best. So, now that you're here, how about another story about stuff I don't recall?"

"What do you want to hear?"

"I'm thinking you could tell me something about our early days as a team at the Planet. Lane & Kent, the early years."

"Ok. So, we were at the office late one night the week after Chloe's wedding. It was the Thursday night of my first week, actually."

---

_Clark scratched his ear as he looked at the computer screen, trying to figure out the right way to word his sentence. Lois had passed off the article to him a few minutes ago, needing to go get coffee. She'd told him that she trusted his judgement, which he took to mean that she was going to change it to the way she wanted it once she got back. She wasn't keen on his suggestions quite yet._

_He let his fingers go into super speed and typed out a couple paragraphs, smiling as his words showed up. He liked the way his writing seemed to match up well with Lois's stuff. Hers was smart and edgy, his was smart and heartfelt. Not that hers lacked heart, but the heart could get lost in the edge sometimes. He could always see the heart in her words._

_Smacking himself in the forehead, he reminded himself that he should try not to think that way. They were partners, now. He shouldn't be obsessing over her like he was some lovesick college kid anymore. _

_Just then she walked back towards their adjoining desks and he forgot that he shouldn't be doing exactly what he was doing, which was thanking every God that could possibly exist for allowing him to be so close to her every day. She sat down at her desk and sipped at her coffee before saying anything. _

"_How much did you get down, Smallville?"_

"_A few paragraphs. I think it's looking good."_

"_A few paragraphs? I was gone for three minutes, so I'm thinking it looks rushed it and you left something out."_

_He watched as she got up again and came around to look at his screen. She leaned over so that her face was right next to his, nearly resting on his shoulder. He could smell her hair, and suddenly he wasn't thinking straight at all. All he could think about was kissing her, a lot, and how happy they could be if..._

"_Smallville!"_

_Clark snapped out of his thoughts and looked at Lois, blinking a couple times. "Yeah, what?"_

"_I was saying that I actually like what you wrote down. Leave it in." She took another big swig of coffee before speaking again. "Know what? Even coffee isn't doing it for me tonight. We can finish this up tomorrow morning for the afternoon edition."_

"_Sounds good. Say, you want to go grab some food?"_

"_Nah. I've got a couple calls to make, so I'm still going to be here a little while. You can go on and get out of here."_

"_Are you sure, Lois? I can wait, it's no problem."_

"_I'll be fine, Smallville. Get out while the getting's good."_

_He smiled at her before she turned away, then sighed as she walked away. Most people would revel in getting to go home from work; for Clark, it was the worst part of his day._

_He grabbed all his notes and stuck them in his briefcase, making sure he had everything before closing it up. He grabbed it and walked to the elevator, waiting for it come to come. It finally got there, and he walked in, pushing the button for the ground floor. He thought he caught a glimpse of Lois running towards the elevator, but shook it off as his mind playing tricks on him._

_When he finally got out of the building, he was about to hail a taxi when he decided it was a nice night to just walk to his apartment. It was only about a twenty minute walk, and it wasn't like it was going to tire him out or anything. He looked up at the night sky, wishing that the lights of the city didn't drown out the stars._

_He was about halfway home when he heard the call for help. He focused his hearing and determined it was back at the Daily Planet. Looking around, he ducked into an alley. It was now or never if he was going to fulfill his destiny and protect people. He ripped his shirt open and shed the rest of his clothes and took off, flying towards the Planet._

_He focused his vision and saw a woman hanging off the roof of the Planet. She lost her grip and fell. He pushed himself and just as he got to her, he saw that it was Lois. Oh god, what was Lois doing hanging from the roof of the Daily Planet, not to mention falling? Why had he left?_

_He caught her, more thankful than any time in his life that he had his powers, and held her against himself a little closer than necessary. He hoped like crazy that she wasn't going to recognize him._

"_It's alright, miss. I've got you."_

_He watched Lois look down then look into his eyes, wrapping her eyes around his neck. "You've got me? Who's got you?"_

_After that she went quiet as he took her back up to the roof of the Planet. He put her down, smiled and took off again. He turned around and looked at her when she spoke._

"_Who... who are you?"_

_He still hadn't picked out a name. He really should have done that before revealing himself. Probably something that started with an S. For now, though, he just needed to tell her something to satisfy her curiosity._

"_A friend." He'd have said more, but the more he said, the longer he was giving her to put two and two together._

_He flew away from the building, grinning. He heard her yell after him about an interview, which just made him_ _smile. Lois would always be Lois, no matter what happened. He wished he could call Chloe to ask about name suggestions now that he was out of the super hero closet, because she would invariably find out and call him and Lois, but interrupting her honeymoon wasn't an option. He thought he might be hearing from her anyway, though, since a flying man was likely to be all over the news everywhere in the world. They were going somewhere secluded, but not that secluded._

_He descended into the alley he'd changed in and put his suit back on, adjusting his tie and putting his glasses back on as he walked out onto the sidewalk again. He passed a little burger joint, stopped, and went in, getting himself a greasy cheeseburger, some curly fries and a chocolate shake. His thoughts wandered to Lois, hoping she wasn't thinking she'd gone crazy._

_He ate slowly, trying to figure out if he should do th interview she wanted. Oh, who was he kidding? Of course he was going to do the interview. Like he could ever deny Lois anything she wanted. _

_He finished his food and walked home, tossing his briefcase on the coffee table and turning on the television to see if they were covering him yet. He didn't want to be self centered, he just wanted to see how far news of the flying man had gone. _

_All the local channels were covering it. He wasn't too surprised by_ _that. News stations in Metropolis were always quick to catch on to possible news stories and chase them down. He flipped over to the national news networks, where the flying man was getting coverage on most of those channels as well. Wow, that was quick, though since he'd rescued Lois from falling off the Planet building... wait, how had that happened?_

_There hadn't been anybody up there when he'd put her back down. They must have thrown her over the side and run back into the building. He felt like an idiot for not trying to find them, though, especially since they would probably try to kill Lois again. Why had she even been on the roof in the first place? _

_Sighing, he stripped his suit and tie off again and took off, flying towards Lois's apartment. When he got there, she was sitting in a chair on the balcony, her hand tapping on the table. She was wearing an old looking sweatshirt and... were those plaid pajama pants? Suddenly he wished she knew who he was so he could comment about that. _

_He floated down, watching her as she stared off in the opposite direction. He finally decided to speak up._

"_How are you, Miss Lane?"_

_She jumped, a hand placed over her heart. She looked at him, eyebrows raised. "I was better before you scared the hell out of me." She paused before speaking again. "Not that I'm complaining, though, since I owe you my life, but I think it may have just lost a few years of it." She paused a second and her brows knitted together._

"_Wait, how do you know who I am?"_

"_I like your articles, Miss Lane."_

_She eyed him, then nodded, seeming to accept the answer. "Not to look a gift horse in the mouth... I really spent too long in that farm town... what brings you to my balcony?"_

"_You asked me for an interview, and I thought I would oblige."_

_She got up and walked towards the door leading into her apartment. "Have a seat," she called out to him. He shrugged and landed on her balcony, pulling out a chair and sitting down, folding his cape over an arm. He still couldn't believe his mom had talked him into wearing the skintight costume. _

_Lois walked back out in completely different clothes. He had to work to keep his jaw from falling open as she stood in front of him in clothes that were extremely sexy and not at all professional in his opinion. They'd done a couple interviews together so far and she'd never worn anything like that to them._

_This was going to be a long night._

---

"So, I was the first person you saved as Superman?"

"With as much trouble you tend to get in, I'd say the odds seemed to favor it." She watched Clark stand up and walk over to a bookshelf, pulling out something that looked more like a binder than a book. He flipped through it a second before pulling out what looked like a newspaper page. He put the binder down and handed the page to her. The headline at the top of the page read 'My Night With Superman,' by Lois Lane.

Lois read through the article, laughing when she got to the part about him x-raying her and telling her she had on a white thong. She looked at him, grinning.

"You must have been blushing like crazy when I asked you that."

"I'm not going to lie, that is a definite possibility. Though, giving me an excuse to look at your underwear was just about the best thing you did that entire year. Everything else involved me saving you after being scared you were already dead."

"I can see where that would be nerve-racking for you, Smallville."

They spent the rest of the afternoon and the evening relaxing and spending time with Jordan. They ate dinner, where Lois decided to indulge herself and ate until she felt like she couldn't eat for a month. She was snacking a couple hours later.

After putting Jordan down for the night, they did some more work on their city council corruption story, but without any new leads, they were just going over the same stuff trying to find any details they could have missed. Their first ten times reading the information seemed to have covered things, though.

Lois was laying in bed, her head on Clark's chest when she finally blurted out something that had been building all evening. "I'm worried."

"Worried about what, Lo?"

"Of not being the Lois people expect to read. I mean, I know I'm a good journalist, but does my writing change the longer I have my memory?"

She frowned when he laughed. "Lo, your writing hasn't changed once since we've been partners, no matter what's happened. Don't worry, everything will be fine."

For some reason, Lois believed him. She blamed his comfy chest for it as she fell asleep.


	23. Chapter 23

----Chapter 23

"Lois! How're you feeling?"

Looking over towards the voice, Lois smiled at the man that had called out to her. Clark was right next to her, getting her settled in at her desk. It had been a relatively event free morning. She'd taken a shower and put on a nice suit that had her mentally frozen for a few minutes when it felt tight around the waist. She had unbuttoned it and found that she was a little rounder than she'd been just four or five days ago.

Lois had been able to put that in the back of her mind, though, as she was eager to get back to the Planet and do something that felt familiar, because she was running seriously low on familiar activities these days. Outside of over eating, all her familiar activities were activities she seemingly no longer partook in.

"That's Perry, Lo. You generally refer to him as Chief."

She nodded, stood and smiled at Perry White, her editor-in-chief that she couldn't remember. "Hey, Chief. I'm fine. You know, aside from knowing nobody and nothing here. That minor detail is somewhat annoying."

"I can only imagine. Look, hon, if you need anything just holler. My office is right over there," he said as he pointed back past them. "Are you planning on doing a full day today, or are you just going to familiarize yourself with everything and head home at lunch?"

"I don't know yet. I was getting a little stir crazy sitting around the apartment all the time. Who I remember being is not comfortable with spending too much time in the same place doing absolutely nothing."

"Lois, you've never been comfortable doing that. Trust me, if you were, you wouldn't be half the reporter you are. Let me know what you decide and don't work too hard today. You can wait until Monday to really dig in."

Lois smiled, but had other plans. "Actually, Chief, I was wanting to get through all this tech stuff ASAP so I could get back to our city council story. We're so close to finding the evidence we need, I can feel it. To take down Lex would be a nice little confidence boost in this world I only partially recognize."

"I know I won't be able to do anything to stop you from doing what you want, so just be careful and listen to Clark. He's only got yours and little Almond Joy's best interests at heart."

As Perry walked away Lois spun and glared at Clark. "You've got him doing it too? Is there anybody in the world besides me that isn't going to be calling our unborn baby Almond Joy?"

"Not if I have any say in it. I mean, yeah, once he or she is born and old enough to dislike the nickname I'll probably just use the initials, but until then, our child is officially Almond Joy. Maybe we could use A and J names for first and middle names so that he or she will always be AJ?"

She sighed. This poor child was going to hate her not only for forgetting he or she existed every now and again, but also for letting its father go haywire and use such a ridiculous nickname.

"We can think about that later, Smallville. Oh, and I think I'm starting to show. I'm a little more round than I was, say, on Saturday." He looked away from her eyes and down to her stomach, smiling. He stared for a moment before Lois got sick of it. She snapped her fingers at him. "Up here, Smallville. No stomach staring in public. Let's keep that to a household activity, if it has to happen at all."

He held up his hands in surrender. "Ok, ok. I'm getting the feeling that this is not the best development in your mind, so to speak, but am I not allowed to be a proud father admiring the wonders of his pregnant wife?"

"Since your pregnant wife is still getting around to reading up on what exactly is happening with her body right now, I think she can be a little edgy."

"Fair enough. Once you're informed, though, your stomach is fair game."

After an obligatory eye roll, they spent the rest of the morning going through the systems and everything. The original plan had been for him to do some of the easy stuff and hand her off to a tech guy for the more complicated tasks, but she found it easy to learn from him and convinced him to just do it all instead of making her meet somebody new that wasn't actually somebody new and go through the awkward conversation.

Lunch time eventually came, and they went to the park and got some hot dogs from a vendor walking the paths. She was surprised the guy was still out and about in November. Lois took down three like they were nothing and could have eaten more, but she didn't want to stuff herself into a lunch induced laziness that would affect her work. Taking down Lex was more important that getting a couple more hot dogs, even when pregnant.

Their afternoon was spent with Lois digging through a couple different leads they'd lucked into right after lunch and Clark calling sources to see if anything else could be dug up. While it was all compelling evidence, it still only linked Lex indirectly and therefore did them no good for the goals they had in mind.

"This is ridiculous, Smallville. We were working on this even when I wasn't memory deficient and weren't able to link it to Lex. If there's information out there, we're looking in all the wrong places and it is bugging the hell out of me."

"I know. Believe me, I'm right there with you on the frustration. There's always something, though, and I know we'll find it. We wouldn't be the team we are if we didn't always get the evidence we needed to make our articles the top notch things they are."

A little while later Lois was chewing on the end of a pencil and studying a file when Clark spoke up.

"That was strange."

Lois pulled the pencil from her mouth. "What was strange?"

"I was just talking to what seemed like a promising source with evidence that could potentially make our article and we got cut off. I tried calling back but I kept getting the message that I had dialed incorrectly or the number I was trying no longer existed."

"You're right, that is strange. Who were you talking to?"

"Unfortunately, I don't know her name. She'd heard we were digging around and got word to me through another source. I don't think she'd have ever met with us to make sure she stayed anonymous, but it sounded like she wasn't above passing it through this other guy."

"How do you know she was legit and not just some disgruntled employee looking to get her boss some bad press and make us look foolish while it happened? You did find the source who shot at us on Tuesday."

"I don't know. I guess I may never know, now, but having the line cut off and suddenly the number doesn't exist? That sounds more like somebody else trying to keep her quiet than her screwing with us. I'm going to try calling the other guy back to see if he can do anything."

They were there for another hour, Lois still going through files and Clark still trying to find out what had happened to the woman he'd been talking to. Neither was all that successful in making any progress.

Clark was helping Lois put on her jacket when he spoke. "So, what sounds good for dinner tonight?"

She shrugged the coat on and grabbed her purse off the desk before turning around to face him. "I don't know, not really feeling like there's a definite answer to that. What sounds good to you?"

"After having a good portion of my pizza eaten the other day, it's sounded really good to me all week."

"Sounds good to me too, Smallville, despite the fact that I should really start eating better. You going to go get Jordan now, or go home with me first?"

"Usually I just go straight from the Planet, but I'm happy to be your escort before heading to the farm. There is a little work mom asked me to do out there, so it'll be about an hour before Jordan and I get back."

She thought about it a second before answering. "You should just head straight there. I'll be fine getting home on my own and this way you can get the work done a little sooner so we can eat a little sooner. You can also bring home the pizza."

"Ok then. I'm going to head to the roof and take off. See you in a little while." He gave her a big smile and headed towards the stairway. He disappeared and Lois got in an elevator, heading down and grabbed a cab after four or five attempts. She nearly gave the driver directions to the place she and Chloe had lived before catching herself and giving the man the right building to drop her at.

She paid the man and headed inside, finding her way to the apartment without much hassle. She said hello to an older woman that greeted her as she got to her door. Once inside, she dropped her purse on a chair and shed her jacket, tossing it over the back of the same chair.

Walking into her room, she kicked off her heels and pushed them next to the dresser where they'd be out of the way. The dresser sparked her interest, though. It held the diary, and she wanted to see what the next entry was about. Grateful as she was to one and all for telling her about the past, not being able to know it from her own perspective sucked. The diary gave her at least a little bit of that.

She hit the dresser until the secret drawer popped open and grabbed the diary. She walked out to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water, filling it and gulping it down once before filling it again and heading to the couch where she could sit and read. She set the glass down and opened up the diary, flipping pages until she got to the next entry.

10/19/17

I am now Lois Lane Kent. The one and only Mrs. Clark Kent. Holy frijoles.. I can't believe we actually made it and got married. I know that for whatever me that's reading this, it may have just made my waking up without all my memories a more difficult thing, and I'm sorry for that. The fact is, though, that I love Clark too much not to marry him, and I think that soon enough you'll feel the same way, if you don't already.

We had a simple ceremony with just family and close friends. The reception, though, that was huge. It was a blast, getting a chance to see a lot of smiling faces. I didn't remember all of them, which makes me wonder how they get invited, but everybody was kind enough to act like nothing was happening.

It's a very strange experience, though, having everybody willing to do anything for you. I could ask for anything or anyone and it was there for me. Bride's have an astounding amount of power at a wedding, which makes sense in the grand scheme of things, but it kind of went to my head and I ended up having one of the servers run and buy Chloe and I a pizza at 11 p.m.

Chloe had a great time, despite having to sit for most of the reception. She stood through the ceremony like a champ, but it took a toll on her back, as I was afraid it would. She might have found it difficult to dance as big as she is, though if anybody can find a way to do something that seems unlikely it's my little cousin.

Believe it or not, the General actually shed some tears as he walked me down the aisle. He called me his Little Lo and gave me a kiss on the temple before handing me away to Clark. His tears made me cry a little bit, then reciting my vows to Clark nearly made my eyes burst as I held the tears in best I could. I didn't end up saying my vows through sobs, so it all worked out.

Lucy was there too, of course, with her husband and son Caden. She's a great mom, and couldn't be more in love with Paul. He's a good man and treats her well, so I couldn't want anything more for her. They're actually talking about trying for another baby soon, so I wouldn't be surprised if she has two kids whenever you are.

Clark's vows... just unbelievable. I know the man can write because of all our work together, but what he said yesterday blew me away. I think he poured his heart, soul and everything else into those words because the way he put his feelings into words was extraordinary. Whatever it was, I think he blew my vows away, which I'm ok with.

We're heading off to Spain tomorrow. I'm writing this at about four in the afternoon and have only had to remove myself from bed once so I could use the bathroom. Other than that, Clark has kept me in bed on a steady diet of food and love making, which is just about the best diet I can imagine.

Also, of course, is that fact that sex with Clark is like running a marathon with a way, WAY better end than breaking the tape. Three to one, if you get my drift. I call it his other super power, which never fails to make him blush. I hope that hasn't stopped working so you can use it because it's all sorts of adorable.

I wish I could think of something useful to tell you this time, but my brain is only half working from happiness overload. I guess I'll just have to impart knowledge to you the next time I write, so don't take too long between reading the entries.

Oh, there is one thing I'd like to mention. Sucking on the spot about an inch under his earlobe drives him wild.

Lois closed the diary and actually felt a little heat in her cheeks. The fact that she suddenly wanted to try sucking on the spot mentioned in the diary was a little unsettling, though somewhat in line with everything she'd been feeling the last couple days. Wanting to have sex with the farm boy should make her question her mental health, not make her think about how amazing it could be!

She jumped up off the couch, walked to her room and tossed the diary back in its secret drawer, pushing it shut before changing into some more comfortable clothes. She was just about to sit down on the couch when she heard the front door opening and Jordan running into the apartment. A grin instantly came to her face as the girl raced to her and got swept up into a hug.

"Hey there, baby girl. How was your day?"

"Really good! Grandma and I made pies!"

Lois looked over to Clark, who was not only carrying three pizzas but a couple pies as well, which smelled like heaven in food form to her. She immediately went and grabbed them off the top of the pizza boxes, opening each up and taking a deep whiff. The cherry smelled great, but the apple set her mouth drooling like crazy. She grabbed a knife and cut herself a big slice, not bothering with a plate and eating it like a slice of pizza.

She turned around to find Clark staring at her like she'd lost her mind. She finished chewing the bite she'd taken and swallowed it. "What? Never seen a woman eat pie before?"

"Not like that, no. I guess Almond Joy really liked the smell of it."

"Yes, AJ did, and therefore I did not want to deprive him or her the pie so craved by taking the time to get a plate. It seemed inconsiderate."

"Right."

"Oh, be quiet." She wanted to tell him to shut up, but thought that might not be the best thing in front of Jordan. She took another bite and spoke around it. "Which pizza is mine?"

He pointed at the one at the bottom of the pile and handed her a plate. She thanked him with a small smile and removed the two pizza boxes from on top of hers before putting a few slices on her plate. She set her pizza box aside and sat down at the table, where Clark put a glass of ice water in front of her. Jordan sat down next to her and started working on a piece of cheese pizza.

Once they'd all had their fill, the remaining pizza and pie were put away and they all sat on the couch, gazing at the television. They put on an old Disney movie for Jordan and watched quietly. Lois was thinking about the dates of the diary entries, thinking about what might come next in it when the time of year it currently was hit her.

"Hey, Clark, is Thanksgiving next week?"

He frowned a second before answering. "Yes, it is. I'd kind of forgotten about it until just now with everything that happened this week. We usually go eat with Chloe and Bruce at the Wayne manor. It's a big thing. My mom, Sam and even Lucy and her family come when they're in the country, but she won't be there this year. We'll fly out there Tuesday after work."

"It'll be good to see everybody again."

Clark looked back towards the television and Lois's vision focused on the spot an inch under his earlobe as dirty thoughts entered her mind. She tried to shake them off, but lost the battle and found herself doing very naughty things to a naked Clark in her mind.

Stupid diary.


	24. Chapter 24

----Chapter 24

Lois looked down, finding Metropolis to be much smaller looking than it had been mere seconds ago. This whole flying thing was a little more nerve wracking than she thought it's be. "Aren't weekends supposed to be relaxing?"

Clark smiled up at her as the flew on. "See, I was kind of expecting that question last weekend. Really, today seems a lot less eventful than last Saturday. No confusion, no throwing up..."

"Oh, there's confusion. It's related to the fact that I remember having weekends where I relaxed. Technically they were quite a few years ago, but I remember them quite clearly for obvious reasons."

"Oh come on, it's not _that_ bad. I think this is going very smoothly."

"We're miles above everything and if you drop me, I am most certainly doomed." Lois looked down again, gulped, and looked back at Clark. "How the hell is this going smoothly?"

"It's going smoothly because I am not going to drop you. Well, not unless you ask me to, which you've asked me to do before so you could free fall for a couple seconds. That wasn't long after the first time I told you about my powers."

It did sound like something she would do. Hell, it would sound fun if it didn't make her jumpy. "Well, I can see where that would be thrilling, but since we have a daughter and a fetus I'm thinking that would probably not be the best of ideas."

"I tend to agree. Though, since Almond Joy is, of course, half Lane, I'm sure the thrill would be enjoyable for him or her. I think if we started it on the adrenaline now, though, we'd never get it under control. Considering the fact that our children may one day develop powers... well, you see where this is going."

Oh God, that was a ridiculously scary thought. She had experience with girls like herself, obviously, but a boy like that was an especially scary thought if he inherited her tendency to act before thinking. But then again, a little boy that didn't have her personality... suddenly Lois zoned out and was seeing a vision of herself chasing after a little boy with his fathers dimples that ran just a little too fast. Exasperated, she finally cornered him and pulled him up into a hug, sweeping the dark curly hair out of his eyes and placing a kiss on his forehead as he giggled.

Shaking her head, she pushed the strange vision to the back of her mind and spoke. "An invincible adrenaline junkie... that would be ridiculous. I am fairly certain, though, that no child of yours would ever run wild. You have a lot of good sense to pass on which evens out the endless crazy that goes on in my head."

"Lo, I seriously doubt that inside your head is endless crazy."

Lois laughed at him a second before speaking.

"Let me take you through a thought process of mine from earlier today, Smallville. I started out curious about AJ. Are we going to have another girl or a little boy? Why do I feel so connected to a baby I don't remember conceiving? What's labor like? Will I realize I'm actually in labor this time or will I just think I'm having a backache again? Will it be long? Short? Will I stand up, have a contraction and start giving birth?

"From there I progressed to wondering if we could have baby back ribs for dinner. What kind of ribs would be best? Maybe Carolina style. Has Superman ever been to the Carolina's to make a save? How does this whole Superman thing work? Has Superman ever had to deliver a baby before, not counting his own daughter? How does a baby's head fit through a part of me I know for a fact is not that big? How long will it take me to get back into shape?

"And when I zoned out just a second ago, it was because I had what could only be described as a vision of me chasing a little boy with your hair and dimples. He was a little too fast for a toddler, really, so I had to corner him just to catch him. But when I did, the exasperation melted away and he was just my son, in my arms, right where he belonged. It was all sorts of vivid until I shook myself out of it."

Lois finished speaking and found herself out of breath, taking a second to regain it. Clark was silent for a minute, probably trying to process just how messed up his wife's thought process was. Hell, she was still trying to process some of the nonsense that was going through her head, and it was her own damn nonsense. She rested her head on his shoulder, her own thoughts overwhelming her. This seemed to prompt him to finally speak.

"That's... intense. Not endless crazy, though. There was a definite end to the crazy."

"How comforting of you."

"Those are all valid thoughts, Lois. I'm curious about Almond Joy too. Heck, I'm not afraid to admit that I scare myself when I think about all the mistakes I could possibly make with him or her. I had great role models for parenting, though, and I know that you were deprived of that. I do my best to emulate both of my parents.

"And hey, ribs for dinner sounds great; I can go for some at a barbecue place I know down in Texas."

"What's it called?"

"The Salt Lick. Not too far outside Austin."

"Sounds like it could be good."

"It is. Now, on your thoughts, the baby's head fits because, well, that's how women work. That's poorly phrased, but I think you get what I mean. You stretch around the baby."

Lois couldn't put a mental image with what he was saying. She didn't know if she wanted to. "There's a strange thought."

"Not really. Pretty natural thought, really. Women have been having babies for at least fifty years, maybe longer, and I'm sure every single one has thought 'How is this baby going to fit through there?'

"In most things, Lo, you're one of a kind. But, when it comes to wondering how childbirth works, and please take this well, you're just another person that has no idea, and can't know until you experience it."

Lois was quiet a moment. She figured that he had to be correct; what the hell could a person know about childbirth without going through it in all its gory detail? She figured it'd be like trying to describe love: you couldn't know until you felt it.

"Generally, I don't like being lumped in with all other women, but I think this time it's acceptable. I'm not against having normal worries in this situation because while I've been through it, I have no idea what's going to happen."

"Correct. Oh, and after Jordan you were back in the shape you wanted to be after about four months."

She frowned. "That long?"

"It's not something you have to rush, Lois. With Jordan, you gained something like forty three pounds. About ten days after she was born you'd lost near to fifteen of it because it was basically just baby and placenta. You took your time and lost the rest of the weight slowly but surely and you look almost no different now than you did in 2008."

"I'm starting to show, Smallville. Well, not show so much as have my pants be too tight. I know for a fact that my pants were not too tight in 2008. It's one of the many things I remember very well about my waking months in that year because tight pants annoy the crap outta me."

"You know what I mean, Lo. When you woke up and first saw yourself in the mirror, you didn't notice any drastic changes in your body from what you remembered, did you?"

"I was a little too shocked by having a face that looked like it had aged a decade overnight. When I gave myself the once over Sunday morning, I didn't notice any drastic changes, per se, but I did notice how my boobs looked and felt bigger and my stomach was a little round where it had been flat."

"The breasts thing I understand, but I don't think you would have even looked at your stomach had you not just been told you were pregnant. Had it not come up, I bet you would have been blissfully unaware and probably just asked about your breasts, which could have been a hilariously awkward conversation if we were having it in front of somebody else."

"That is _so_ not the point." Lois would have protested further, but felt she'd been caught.

"Yeah, right. The point is, you can take however long you want to get yourself back in shape after Almond Joy is born. If it takes you a year to lose the weight you want gone, it's no problem. If you decide you don't want to lose the weight, more power to you. Heck, I like you looking curvy and soft. I will always love you, though, no matter what you look like."

Lois grinned mischievously; it was time to have some fun with him. "Alright, excuse to get fat. I think I'll just keep eating like I currently am and see how long it takes me to get to 200."

"An interesting goal. Do you want me to tally the days so you can focus on the baby?"

"You sound way too ok with my joke."

"I just said I will love you no matter what you look like. I married a woman with some pretty impressive scars on her face. If you want, I can show you the pictures some time so that you know just how bad they were. I love you, Lois, because of who you are. You drive me crazier than any other fifty people on the planet could hope to and it just makes me fall deeper in love with you."

"So, basically, you're a glutton for punishment?"

"I'd call that a radical interpretation of the text."

"I call it an accurate interpretation of the text. You fell in love with a woman you never though you'd have after getting your heart ripped out by a heartless bitch. After helping your unrequited love through a giant ordeal and gaining numerous brownie points, she forgets all your hard work while you're gone. You put in all the hard work again, she forgets again. It's a cycle that will repeat itself until the woman in question dies."

"I don't think..."

"You are married to a woman that will never be in love with you for more than three or four years at a time. How is that not being a glutton for punishment, Smallville?"

He was silent a moment before he spoke quietly but intensely. "Because it's worth it to be with her."

"What do you mean it's worth it? How could it be worth it?"

"To be with you, Lois... it's worth it. You make my life as Superman possible. You've given me a daughter I never thought I could have, and now we're having another baby. I thought my life was going to be very long and very alone. You made that the distant nightmare of a kid that moped too much. When you say you love me, it's the greatest joy I know, right along with Jordan saying she loves me. In short, you've given me love, Lois. That makes everything worth it."

She worked her jaw a couple times, trying to figure out something to say but failing miserably. What the hell could she say to a man that had just said she'd saved him from a long and lonely life he thought he was destined to live? How could she possibly respond to him telling her that she made it possible for him to make the world a better place?

"I, uh... wow. Quite the wordsmith, Clark Kent."

"You bring it out in me, Lois Lane Kent."

Lois plastered her usual smirk on her face, trying to get back into some kind of comfort zone where Clark wasn't blowing her mind with revelations about his love for her. "Damn right I do. Now, take us back home. I know Jordan's asleep, but if she wakes up and we're not there, she might be scared."

"Ok then, back home we go."

"By the way, won't people find it strange that I'm randomly out flying with Superman, world's most eligible bachelor according to the gossip section of today's Daily Planet?"

Clark laughed a little before responding. "Not even close. You, with your nose for trouble, have always required saving. Since Superman does a lot of saving, you and I have always been close. People have linked Superman and Lois Lane romantically since day one because you were the first person I saved. Even after you became Lois Lane Kent, the rumors never stopped."

"So, people seeing us flying together is no big deal."

"Exactly."

"It never fails to astound me at just how strange my life is these days." She looked down at the rapidly approaching ground, quickly becoming even more aware of just how true that statement was.


	25. Chapter 25

---- Chapter 25

"You get back here, ya little devil!"

Lois ran after and caught a naked, squealing Jordan that was attempting to sidestep taking a bath. Clark had been giving her all her baths to this point, but Lois had decided it was finally time to start doing more of her parental duties. She sat Jordan down in the warm water and was quickly splashed.

"Hey now, you know better than that."

Jordan looked sorry, though Lois would swear that there was still some mischief in her eyes. "Sorry, mommy."

"How's it going in there, ladies?"

Lois looked over to Clark, who was standing in the hallway. "It's going great, Smallville. Couldn't be a smoother run operation in the rest of Metropolis."

"So, that wasn't a naked three year old I saw running down the hallway a moment ago?"

"Well, I don't know about you, but the only naked three year old I know around here is in the bathtub and certainly wouldn't run around in a hallway undressed, right Jordan?"

"Right, mommy."

"So it stands to reason, Smallville, that you must be stashing some naked three year olds around here and one must have gotten loose. For shame." She started doing that 'tsk tsk' thing with her fingers at him, which Jordan quickly copied. He was very soon rolling his eyes at both of them and walking back to where he'd been.

Lois held up a hand to Jordan. "High five, baby girl."

She quickly got one, and they got on with the bath. Twenty minutes and a change into dry clothes later, Lois was sitting in the living room coloring with Jordan while Clark was out doing his Superman thing. As grim as his duties as Superman could be, Lois really wanted to see him doing his thing saving and helping people. Maybe she could watch him stop something where there was little chance of somebody getting shot.

She took a deep breath in, smelling the meat loaf cooking not too far away. It permeated through the apartment, which kept making her salivate a little more than she was comfortable with. It was like she was having a Pavlovian response to the thing. She really was starting to wonder if how hungry she was could be construed as unnatural, even for a pregnant woman. She'd have to ask her doctor.

Would she even have a doctor? Since her baby was half kryptonian, she didn't know what procedure would be. Would she be able to go and have blood work done or was this just going to be however many more months she had left figuring things out as she went?

Holy crap, was this even going to be a human length pregnancy?

Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why hadn't she been asking these questions as soon as she learned the fact that the father of her unborn child was from Krypton? Better yet, why the hell hadn't Clark been offering up this information? She was having to adjust to a new year, not remembering her own daughter and more than a third of her life. He... he was just having to be himself. Oh, he was going to get an earful...

"Mommy?"

Lois blinked, tamping down her anger and looking to Jordan. "Yeah, baby girl?"

"You stopped coloring."

Lois looked down at the coloring book in front of her; she had no idea what she was coloring, and to be brutally honest, it looked like crap. Artistry of this type had never been her thing.

"Well, aren't I just being a big silly. Say, what color do you think should go right here?" She pointed down at the picture next to blue part.

"Red!"

She looked down at the picture and thought that it might be a good choice. Looking around the living room, she wondered just how much Jordan had been influenced by the mass of blue and red furniture she and Clark had apparently picked out.

"Know what, I think that's a great choice Jordan." She pushed the coloring book back a bit and stood up, stretching her legs out. "I'm gonna grab something to drink. Do you want anything or are you good for now?"

"Milk, please."

"You got it."

It had to be milk. She had to be her father's daughter.

Getting into the kitchen, she got herself a glass of water, downed it and got another before setting it on the counter and grabbing another glass out of the cupboard. With a sigh, she opened the fridge and pulled out the milk. Of all the things around the kitchen, there was one liquid whose smell seemed to make her nauseous the last couple days, and her daughter loved to drink it.

Taking a breath and holding it, she opened the milk and poured a glass for Jordan. She closed it back up and stuck it in the fridge as quickly as she possibly could, letting the breath go. She breathed in, and couldn't avoid the milk in the glass, her stomach quickly souring. The smell of it... why couldn't it have been something stupid like cleaning polish? She'd never be near the stuff! No, it just had to be Jordan's drink of choice that made her feel sick.

After handing the glass to her little girl, Lois sat a little farther away from her and the evil white liquid she enjoyed so much. She pulled her coloring book over and started filling in the area she'd asked advice on earlier. It was a surprisingly calming activity, coloring. She didn't have to think about anything in depth, just what color would look good where.

She could also just sit and watch Jordan enjoy herself, which she found was an oddly intense experience. To watch a little girl that was half her be so happy and at peace, unaffected by all the crap she was dealing with and what the world would throw at her in the future was something she never would have guessed she could enjoy half as much as she was. Lois wished Jordan would stay three forever so that she didn't have to see just what kind of world they actually lived in.

Eight days. It had been all of eight days that she could remember having a daughter and she already found herself wishing that she'd never have to grow up and face the world.

At the same time, though, she was almost eager to see what kind of person Jordan would grow up to be. What would she choose to do with her life? Would she be like her father and fight crime? Or would she just be a little less susceptible to injury, not having any of the smorgasbord of powers Clark possessed? Would AJ be the same way? Or would that vision she saw of a little boy already running a little too quickly for his age come true?

She was diving deeper into her thoughts when a gust of wind blowing into the apartment interrupted her. She was proud of herself for already getting used to such a strange occurrence. She took another sip of water before saying anything.

"Do some good work, Superman?"

"I like to think so. There are some muggers and a car jacker at a police precinct that would disagree, though."

"I'm sure they do."

"So, what are you girls up to?"

Lois held up a coloring book when Jordan didn't respond, too ensconced in her activity. "Coloring. I was thinking about what a surprisingly calming activity it can be not long ago. Would you agree?"

"I don't know that I've ever gone that in depth when thinking about coloring. Mostly I just wonder if my color choices are going to make Jordan laugh or you comment on how I can never escape classic plaid coloring."

"You've got to be kidding me. How can you possibly color things plaid?"

"Well, I take one color..."

Lois wacked him lightly with the back of her hand as he kneeled down next to her. "Not what I meant, smart alec, and you know it. Now, go change out of your suit and check on the loaf of meat that's cooking. I'm thinking it's just about ready, which with my keen cooking skills mean absolutely nothing."

A second later he appeared in the kitchen in the clothes he'd been wearing before doing his gig, opening the oven and looking in at their soon to be meal. "I think it needs another few minutes, Lo, but you're getting better about it. Usually you ask me if I've let it cook long enough when it's done."

"That does sound like my style of cooking. Not done until it's too crispy to eat."

"Daddy, do you wanna color with us?"

Lois watched Clark walk over and get down on the floor next to Jordan. "You know it." He smiled and looked up at Lois. "You wouldn't happen to have anything I could put some plaid on, would ya?"

While Lois rolled her eyes, Jordan flipped the page to a couple blank pictures. She pointed at the one on the right. "You can color that one, daddy. I'll color the other."

"Sounds great. Mommy, may I please have the red and yellow crayons?"

Lois couldn't help the stupid smile she found herself wearing after he called her that. She was really going to have to work on controlling her features better when she heard herself called mommy. She passed the crayons over to him. "There ya go, daddy. Enjoy your ridiculous plaid coloring."

Thinking about plaid, she was suddenly curious about something. "Say, where is all your plaid these days? Do you keep it hidden in the closet somewhere?"

"The shirt you woke up in last weekend in more or less the extent of the plaid in our apartment. I still have plenty of shirts out at the farm, though, for when we spend time there."

"That makes sense. I don't think I'd ever deprive you of the privilege of wearing plaid at the farm."

"You don't deprive me of it here, I just choose not to wear as much these days. Since the weather doesn't affect me, I usually just wear jeans and a t-shirt."

"Now hold on there, buster. You wear jeans and I don't? How does that work?"

Clark held up his hands in surrender. "Don't ask me, I'm just the husband. I like to think I know my wife well, but I'm never going to go so far as to say I can tell why you think what you think when you think it."

"Heck, I don't even know what I could have been thinking to give up my jeans!"

"It seems as though jeans are to you as plaid is to me: something both of us wear at the farm."

Lois didn't really have anything to add on to that, so she went back to coloring. It wasn't long until the meat loaf was ready, and they all sat down and had a good meal. They put Jordan down for the night a couple hours later and were sitting in the living room in a comfortable silence when Lois's mouth got itchy to raise some of the questions she'd thought of earlier.

"So, Smallville, my mind wandered earlier and came up with some interesting questions. Up for some Q&A?"

"Like I could be married to you and not be."

She noted the astute observation on his part, then carried on. "Ok then, first question: Do I go see a doctor while I'm pregnant, or do we just trust to fate that it'll be all good?"

"More of the latter than the former. Do you know anything about the Swann Institute?"

"I know of it, but not really what they do."

"Virgil Swann, before he died, found that I was from Krypton. He knew close to as much about it as I did before I did my training. His son is a medical doctor that joined the institute after his father's death. He knows everything about me, and with his background in medicine we use him to make sure everything is going according to plan, but we only see him every two or three months."

"Why so infrequently?"

"We didn't really see the need this time or last. You're a quick healing woman and our baby is pretty much invulnerable. A man actually punched you in the stomach while you were pregnant with Jordan and broke his hand. You carry very strong placentas."

Lois couldn't imagine somebody punching her in the gut and ending up with a broken hand. It was a pretty funny image in her head, though. "Abs of steel, eh? I like it."

Clark smiled and nodded. "So did I, after it scared the hell out of me."

"Next question then. Is my pregnancy normal human length?"

"Yes. Ten months from the start of your last period, just like every other human woman. Or... is it the end of it? I've never figured it out, but yes, normal. I don't know why doctors can't just say nine months from conception anymore."

"Good. If I had to go twelve months I was going to hurt you for inflicting extra pregnancy on me."

"If it helps, Jordan even came a little early. Not extremely so, but maybe a week or so before your due date."

Lois smiled. "It does help. I like the sound of early. Not too early, of course, but a couple weeks, or even one week doesn't hurt anything. And one of the few things I know about pregnancy is that the first labor is usually the longest. Too bad we don't know how long mine actually lasted."

"We'll be prepared this time, Lo."

"I should hope so. But, that brings me back around to my original thoughts on doctors. If I don't see a regular OBGYN, were we planning on me having the baby in a hospital or what?"

"That was the plan, yes. Dr. Swann would do the delivery and keep all the blood work as his eyes only. Shouldn't be a problem with abnormal results or anything that way."

Thinking about it, Lois figured it did seem to be a pretty sound plan. It made sense since they'd had time to figure these things out before. She'd only been going through it week and he had a child under his belt already. She figured that she did too, but since she couldn't remember it was just slightly annoyed.

"Ok then. Now, next question, which is less about baby and more about space." She waved her arms around at the apartment for a second. "This place is great. But it only has two rooms, and we'll soon need three unless you plan on people that aren't us bunking together."

"Ah, well, that might not be as much of a problem as you think. When we found out you were pregnant, we started house hunting pretty quickly. We put in a bid on a place not too long ago and got it."

Well, that was news. "Gee, thanks for letting me know, Smallville. When are we supposed to move?"

"About a month and a half. It's a great house, Lo. Four rooms, three bath, not including the basement. Big backyard with lots of trees in it and around the neighborhood. I think you'll like it, or at least you did recently."

Lois sighed, but gave him a small smile. "Well, I do trust my judgement more than anybody else's, and I have great taste, so I'm sure it'll be a great house. Just, next time I forget? Don't skimp on the details, Smallville."

He smiled and saluted her. "Aye aye."

"That's Navy. We say 'Yes, sir' in the army."

"Really? I could have sworn you were a sailor..."

"You are so lucky you're adorable because otherwise I would hurt you."

Lois's quickly realized what she'd said. Instead of being herself and stuttering over an explanation, though, she decided to just own up to it. "Yes, fine, I think you're adorable Smallville. Don't let it go to your head."

She watched him smile and took her hand in his. "Love you too, Lo."


	26. Chapter 26

---- Chapter 26

"Today sucked."

"It's good to see you too, cuz."

Lois smiled sheepishly, pulling Chloe into a hug. They were in Wayne Manor, Lois, Clark and Jordan having just arrived for Thanksgiving. Jordan and the Wayne brood had already run off to play while Clark and Bruce had started walking off, discussing something amongst themselves. She watched them out of the corner of her eye for a second before looking back to Chloe.

"You know I'm always happy to see you, Chlo. It's just been a less than stellar day up until our arrival."

Lois followed Chloe as she led them into one of the smaller living rooms. They sat down in a couple of plush chairs that were facing each other, a small coffee table between them. Lois looked around the room, taking in the classic movie posters that she figured were all Chloe's doing. Bruce probably would have left the walls bare.

"Ok Lo, please elaborate on your 'Today sucked' announcement. You've got a captive audience to whom you can rant."

"Ok, so I woke up this morning, Clark's chest almost pulling me back to sleep after he turned off the alarm..."

Chloe held up a hand. "Clark's _chest_? It's been ten days and you're already sleeping with Clark?"

"No! Well yes, but no. We're married with a daughter and another kid on the way, Chloe, so I figured sleeping in the same bed as the guy wouldn't be a big deal. Of course, this was before I found out that not only does my body remember sleeping with Clark, but laying my head on his chest puts me to sleep faster than taking a handful of sleeping pills. It's also strangely comfortable for being rock hard muscle."

"So, same bed, no..."

Lois rolled her eyes as Chloe drew out the last word. "No, there is no sex. Like you said, it's been all of ten days. I mean, we kissed that first Sunday, but..."

"You _kissed_ him on the second day you could remember since 2008?"

"He was being all confident and sexy! Clark's always been a hottie, but the thing that kept him away from a romantic possibility was his seemingly innate mopiness. If you haven't noticed, the man is EXTREMELY mope free these days, and when not at work being a dork on purpose, is a very confident man that saves people on a daily basis."

Lois looked down at the ground, not meeting Chloe's wide eyes. "And, ya know, he's still Clark. When he wasn't moping back in the day, he was just about the nicest guy you could ever meet."

Lois sat back in her chair, looking at everything but Chloe for a minute until the discomfort of the moment finally got to her and she looked up to meet her cousin's eyes. The blonde was smiling in a fashion that Lois thought far too devious.

"You are falling for him quick this time."

"Falling? I am not _falling_ for Clark just because I kissed him once and, ya know, sleep in the same bed with him and use his chest for a pillow... oh God, who am I kidding? He's probably the greatest man I could ever hope to know, what with the saving people and the world.

"He loves me so much; I caught him staring at me yesterday at work with this look that just screamed 'I love you, Lois,' and I just about let myself look at him the same. All that, and he's a great father to Jordan. Then I imagine him with AJ and get all these warm, fuzzy feelings that are entirely foreign to me and as much as I want to fight them, I just keep having them and they're breaking down my defenses like they aren't even there!"

Chloe smiled at her, standing up and moving to sit in the chair with Lois. She scooted over as Chloe sat down, wrapping an arm around Lois's shoulders.

"If it makes you feel any better, the last time you woke up and couldn't remember anything it only took about a month for you to fall in love with him. Seems you may be gone by the three week point this time."

"I blame two people for this: Jordan and AJ. First, I blame Jordan because the love I feel for her is unlike anything I've felt before. She's my daughter, and it's just... well, you know."

Chloe nodded her head and Lois continued.

"The love I feel for Jordan leaves me susceptible, having weakened my overall defenses towards love in general. That leads me to AJ. For AJ, the love is almost the same as it is for Jordan, but different because he or she is more concept than reality at this point. Though, the fact that I couldn't button the first pair of pants I wanted to put on this morning quickly pushed concept much closer to reality."

"Yeah, I'm starting to show too." Chloe lifted up the bottom of her shirt and pushed the top of her pants down a little, showing off a small but definitive bump.

"See, that's where I was going to start with the today sucked, but somehow we ended up on Clark and changing feelings instead. Only we could go from my pants not fitting to my love life before we even got to my pants not fitting."

"No kidding. Anyway, you were talking about Almond Joy?"

"Right. Similar but different love because of the in utero thing he or she has going on these days. With Jordan, it's love. With AJ, it's love and these warm, fuzzy feelings that I was talking about earlier. It's like I feel almost peaceful or something when I have AJ musings. Is that just me, or do you get that too with your as yet unseen child?"

"When I get lost in thought about this one, plain old happy is what I tend to feel more than warm and fuzzy. Of course, since I'm not having the first child I can remember being pregnant with I'm... well, I guess I'm a little desensitized to it." Chloe frowned at her own statement. "I can't decide if that makes me sad or not."

"I'll trade ya, cuz. I don't know how much more warm fuzziness I can take before I do something rash."

"Like fall totally in love with Clark?"

"Exactly."

"You poor, poor woman. How terrible it must be to feel overcome with love for your internal and external children, not to mention on the verge of being swept off your feet by a man you've fallen in love with three times before."

"Oh that's real helpful, Chloe."

Lois looked over to find Chloe rolling her eyes and raising an eyebrow at her. "Fine, fine. How about I take you back to the first time you were all apprehensive about your feelings about Clark? It might sound a lot like what we were just talking about, though no children or warm, fuzzy feelings will be involved."

"I could use a story free of feelings in general, but I guess I'll take what I can get. Lay it on me."

"Alright then. You two had your first date October 5th, 2013, a Saturday. Our conversation took place the night before."

---

_Yawning, Chloe stepped out of the taxi she'd taken from the airport and walked up the steps to the apartment building. Smiling at the doorman, she walked in without him saying anything to her. She figured Lois must have let him know she was coming. Either that or the place really needed a better doorman._

_The ride up to her floor on the elevator was brisk, but had surprisingly good music going. She couldn't remember another elevator where they'd played Wolfmother, though admittedly an odd choice for elevator music. The door opened and she got out, walking up to the door of Lois's apartment and knocking a couple times. She waited a moment, and was raising her hand to knock again when the door was flung open and she was pulled in by Lois._

"_Chloe, thank God you're here. I'm freaking out, and it's just..."_

"_Slow down, Lo. First off, no treating the pregnant lady like she's a rag doll. Second, I can count on very few fingers the number of times you've freaked out, so what's going on? And in calm tones, so I can understand all the words."_

_Her calm tones request was apparently very ignorable. "It was just another day! I was minding my own business, well, getting into other people's business because that is my business, but then the day blind sided me! No warning, just a straight out of the blue whack to the back of my head. And I said yes! Why did I say yes?"_

_Chloe placed her hands on Lois's face, forcing her to stop rambling and look at her. "You are making very little sense, Lo, and if you don't start I am going to shake you for your own good. Now, slowly and calmly, tell me what has your head spinning like a top."_

_She released Lois's face and took a step back, waiting for some dire news she hadn't heard yet that Lois had to cover._

"_Clark asked me out."_

_Well it was about damn time. She'd thought he was going to chicken out instead of doing what he'd told her and his mother he was going to do by the end of the week. "That's it? You had me fly from Gotham to Metropolis because Clark asked you out?"_

"_And I said yes!"_

"_Well I should hope so; the man's wanted to ask you out before he even went on his trip. He might have done something drastic like start brooding again had you said no. What I don't understand is why you're freaking out about going on a date_."

"_It's with Clark!"_

"_Why is that a bad thing? He's probably the kindest, most caring man you'll ever meet. He's now 100 brood free, and yeah, he's more clumsy than he used to be, but mostly it's around you because he doesn't know what to do with himself when you're around."_

_Chloe hated lying to Lois about why Clark was such a klutz at work, but it wasn't anything she hadn't done a hundred times before in similar situations. _

"_Clark Kent, Chloe. Smallville. The Man in Plaid. He with whom I do not get along well!"_

_Chloe let out an exasperated sigh. "First off, you two have been getting along great ever since he got back. Secondly, with all your anti-Clarkness, why the hell did you say yes?"_

"_Because I... because he..." She threw up her hands in the air. "I don't know, damn it! It was the end of the day after our best week together as partners. We're clicking as a team, ya know?"_

"_I do know, I read the paper every day."_

"_There ya go! So we're packing up our stuff and he's being more clumsy than usual when he suddenly straightens out and looks all confident like. It was really reminiscent of somebody, but I can't place it. Anyway, he does that, walks over next to me and looks me straight in the eye, saying 'Lo, will you go out with me tomorrow night?'_

"_I, of course, didn't think he meant on a date at first. We've more or less become inseparable because of our partnership, and are kind of best friends in a strange, argumentative kind of way. Not the point, though. He asked, I said sure because I never have plans anymore because of my scars inside and out, and he said 'Great! I was kinda scared you wouldn't want to go out on a date with me since we're partners now.' After that he offered to go with me down to the lobby, but I was so shocked I just pushed him into going home, making some excuse about a call to make."_

"_I take it the call you made was to me."_

"_Yeah. After that I came home and have been freaking out ever since._"

"_Why?"_

"_Clark freaking Kent! I cannot go out with Smallville!"_

_Dear God, they were going in circles. Chloe had enough of the standing, though, and walked over to her cousin's couch and sat down heavily. Her hand ran over her burgeoning stomach a couple times before she even realized it was taking any action at all. She smiled a second before realizing she was still dealing with Lois's nonsense._

"_Give me a real reason, Lo. So help me, if you say because he's Captain Plaid I will get Bruce to do something to knock some sense into you."_

"_Oh please, I can take Bruce."_

"_Reasons, please!"_

_She watched as Lois started to pace in a large circle around the apartment, making two circuits before speaking. "I don't know, ok? That's most of the reason I'm freaking out. The fact that I can't think of any good reasons to not go out with him scares the crap out of me. The best I can do is be all girly and say that I don't want to lose him as a friend. _

"_The man's never even entered my mind as a romantic option before. Now that he's put himself there, I can't seem to find anything wrong with it! It's like I've been infected with some brain eating virus that leaves me considering crazy ideas like going on dates with Clark, and it is threatening to drive me mad very quickly."_

"_Will you be mad by the time you two go out tomorrow?"_

"_Not helping! So much not helping!"_

"_I'm not trying to! If you haven't noticed by my questions and observations, I see absolutely nothing wrong with you and Clark going out on a date. He's everything you could possibly want in a guy, and then some. Plus, you haven't gone out on a date since you lost your memory back in April, not to mention not getting any..." _

"_Chloe! I am not going to go out with Clark just because I haven't had sex in... well, at least since April."_

"_Then why are you going out with him?"_

"_Because I could really like him!"_

"_Could?"_

"_I don't know... he's a great guy and would probably be a step above most of the guys I remember dating. If we survived the first few dates and went a couple months without killing each other, I think he could be somebody I love."_

_A shocked look overtook Lois's face, prompting Chloe to fall over laughing. Finally, she'd just come out and said it instead of giving her the run around._

"_I know that, Lois. Hell, when we talked last weekend you spent the majority of the conversation talking about Clark doing this or Clark helping with that. It wasn't difficult to figure out."_

"_Then why the hell didn't you tell me? I feel a little... no, a lot shocked by this revelation!"_

"_Because you'd have completely denied it or just freaked out. Your present condition is prime evidence of that."_

_Lois finally stopped pacing around her apartment and sat down next to Chloe. She leaned over and rested her head on Chloe's shoulder. "There's a problem with all this though, Chloe. A real one."_

"_What's that?"_

"_My feelings for Superman."_

_Uh oh. "Feelings for Superman? What feelings would those be?"_

"_I think I love him, Chlo."_

_Chloe really wished she could take one good swing at Clark and not break her hand. The man never failed to make anything and everything ten times more complicated than it needed to be. Time to break out her Clark Kent helping skills again._

"_How well do you actually know Superman, Lois?"_

"_He's saved me a few times and gave me the exclusive interview, plus we've talked a couple times a week ever since he started saving people."_

_Maybe Bruce could find a way to hurt Clark without kryptonite. It seemed like a Batman kind of problem. "Ok, how in depth have your conversations been? Not how many times have you been able to thank him for saving your life, but how well have you gotten to know him?"_

"_Well, we've talked, and I have asked him about his likes and dislikes. I mean, I guess I don't know him all that well in the grand scheme of things, but since when has that been a prerequisite for love? Not to go all mushy on you, but a lot of people do believe in love at first sight."_

_Chloe scoffed. "You don't."_

"_No, not technically, but I think I can be swayed, because my first sigh of him..."_

"_Yeah, right. Do you think Superman would ever actually go out on a date with you?" If only she knew._

"_How should I know?"_

"_I'm going to venture a guess and say no. He doesn't seem like a guy that is going to have a roaring social life."_

"_This coming from the woman that married Batman."_

"_That small detail aside, here's what I think you should do: Go out with Clark. Have a good time, and if nothing else, a free meal. You two know each other pretty well, and it's not like you've never had dinner together before."_

_She watched as Lois stood up and started pacing again. "But it's never been on a date before!"_

_Chloe rolled her eyes. "Be that as it may, give it a chance, Lo. I think you two can be great together."_

_The pacing stopped. "Really?" _

_Smiling, Chloe stood up and pulled Lois into a hug. "I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it, would I?"_

---

"That... that definitely sounds like a reaction to dating Smallville that I would have." Lois smiled slightly at her cousin, who returned the smile. "But, I was in love with Superman at the time?"

"Pretty much. I couldn't talk you out of what you felt for him, no matter what I did."

"Huh. How did the date go then?"

"That, I believe, is something you should ask your husband. I was involved in the aftermath, but he has the unique perspective of being there."


	27. Chapter 27

---- Chapter 27

Lois walked with Chloe as they went to one of the intercoms that were in the manor. Chloe pushed the talk button when they got there, broadcasting to all the rooms. "Bruce, where are you and Clark hiding?"

There was a moment of silence. "In plain sight. You know it as the kitchen."

Both women rolled their eyes as they walked to the kitchen, entering the room a minute later to find their respective husbands leaning on one of the islands.

"Hello, boys," Lois said as they walked up to them, each woman standing beside her husband.

"What kind of trouble have you two been up to so far?"

As Lois glared at Clark, Chloe simply answered. "No trouble, just talk. We got on an interesting topic that I thought you would like to chime in on. We were talking about the first date you two went on."

"Yeesh. How far did you get?"

"I only did the pre-game. I figured I'd leave the actual date to you, as well as the aftermath."

Lois looked around at the three people she was with. Bruce had yet to chime in, which didn't shock her. The way Chloe kept saying aftermath, though, was beginning to make her wonder. She was about to bring the point up when Clark beat her to the punch.

"Ok then. I'm not even going to tell about most of the date, because it'll all be covered anyway and I'd rather not relive that part directly. I'll start with the end and go from there."

---

"_Well, that was... interesting?"_

"_Yeah Smallville, that's a good word for it."_

_Clark grimaced as Lois held out her hand for a handshake halfheartedly. He took her hand with a sigh, shaking it and then watched her quickly retreat into her apartment. She didn't even say goodnight._

_Shoulders slumped, Clark walked back to the elevator, going down to the lobby in silence and exited the building with another sigh. He really didn't blame her for getting into her apartment as quickly as possible. Anything that could have gone wrong did, and then some. Well, that wasn't true. Picking her up and the ride to the restaurant had been fine. _

_After that, though, it had been one thing after another. Awkward silence had enveloped them within minutes of being seated. Clark couldn't think of anything to say. He didn't want to start talking about work because then it would just seem like another dinner together and he wanted it to be special. Awkward silence was then followed by him knocking over her water and spilling it into her lap, which had been followed by a waiter tripping and spilling four dinners on her._

_Of course, the coup de gr_â_ce had been when his hearing had picked up somebody in need of help. The save hadn't taken long, having wrapped a couple muggers up with a street sign post, but when he'd gotten back to the restaurant Lois had already left. He flew back to her apartment building, finding her exiting a cab. That's when he realized he hadn't even remembered to leave money to pay for dinner. _

_The fact that she'd allowed him to even walk her up to her place was a small miracle._

_With yet another sigh, he ducked into an alley and took off flying, no destination in mind. He just wanted to get away from Metropolis for a little while. A few minutes later he found himself flying over Gotham and landing at the Wayne Manor. Looking at his watch, it was still only eight thirty back in Metropolis, meaning it was nine thirty in Gotham. He went to knock, but stopped his hand and pulled out his cell instead. He dialed Chloe's cell phone, waiting a couple rings before she answered._

"_So? How'd it go?"_

"_Look at what time it is, Chlo. Compare with when we were going out."_

"_Ouch."_

"_And that would be an understatement. I'm a little surprised Lois hasn't called you yet. Mind if I stop by the manor?"_

"_Of course not, I'll tell Alfred... that's you ringing the bell, isn't it?"_

"_I got here before I called, actually."_

"_Wow, that must have been an awful date." There was a pause. "Look, Lois is calling me. I'll meet you in the room with the big TV, ok?"_

"_Yeah, ok." As he closed his cell, Alfred opened up the front door. Clark smiled at him. "Hi, Alfred."_

"_Mr. Kent, how are you this evening?"_

"_Alfred, I haven't had many first dates in my life, and tonight I went on the worst one in history with a woman I love."_

"_I'm sorry to hear that, Mr. Kent. Would you like something to drink while you wait for Mrs. Wayne?"_

_Clark thought a second, then nodded. "Lois isn't around me, so she should be safe from it getting spilled on her. I'll have a glass of milk, if you have it."_

"_I'll be right back with it."_

_A few minutes later, Clark was drinking from a glass of milk as he sat in silence, waiting for Chloe. Why couldn't he have just stayed her friend? Why did he have to get greedy and try for more. He was pretty sure they'd still be able to work together, but any hope of them being together romantically was thoroughly dashed. He put his milk down on a coaster and rested his face in his hands._

"_Clark?"_

_Clark looked up and found Bruce standing a few feet away. "Bruce. I thought you'd be out putting fear into the hearts of criminals by now." He hadn't intended that to sound as harsh as it had. "Sorry, that was uncalled for."_

_Bruce sat down in a chair a few feet away from him. "Not a problem. Wasn't the big date with Lois tonight?"_

"_It was."_

_Clark watched as Bruce didn't make much sign of acknowledgment, but did quirk an eyebrow after a second. "Not the best of nights, I take it."_

"_Awkward silence, water spilled in her lap, food dumped all over her and I had to leave in the middle of it all to save somebody, forgetting to leave money to pay for dinner. I think the restaurant should have paid for the meal after dumping four of them on Lois, but it wasn't that kind of night."_

"_Well, at least she wasn't shot."_

"_There's still time."_

_Silence overtook them, Clark figuring Bruce didn't know what to say. He didn't blame the man; he wouldn't have known what to say if somebody had come to him after a night like this._

_Chloe walked into the room, prompting both Bruce and Clark to stand up: Bruce as a courtesy to his wife, Clark eager to know what Lois had said._

_The blonde walked straight to Bruce and wrapped him in a hug. "Thank you for not taking me on a first date like the one Lois and Clark had tonight. I don't know that we'd be where we are if you had."_

_Clark sighed and sat down with a thump, not liking the way that sounded. "I'm a little afraid to ask what Lois thought of our night out."_

_He watched Chloe unwrap herself from her husband and both sat down. "Do you want the good news or the bad news first, Clark?"_

"_Bad."_

"_As far as she is concerned, you and Lois dating or in a relationship will never happen. She was questioning it beforehand and it was all I could do to keep her calm last night. She thought she could really like you, but after a night like this... well, if being with you is like tonight she is convinced that no regular guy can do it for her and she's going to really go all out to get Superman to see her romantically."_

"_Great. Not only have I ruined my chances with her, but now I have to find some way to let her down easy as Superman. As far as first dates go, this is just about as bad as it gets."_

"_Well, there's still good news."_

"_I can only imagine what this may be. Shoot."_

"_She doesn't blame you for the waiter tripping and spilling food on her. Everything else... well, I think you two are going to have some awkward times at work for a while."_

"_Nothing in the world could be more awkward than tonight was."_

"_I think the two of you should be fine working together then. A year or two from now it'll just be a funny memory for the two of you to laugh over."_

_Clark let out a mirthless laugh, standing up from his chair. "Yeah right. By then Superman will have broken her heart, she'll have found a guy that makes her happy and we'll no longer be partners. _

"_I can't believe I screwed this up. I just had to be greedy. I couldn't let myself be happy with what I already had. No, I had to go for it all and completely blow it."_

_Clark sat down again, pulling his glasses off and tossing them on the coffee table then rubbing a hand over his face and through his hair. "What the hell am I supposed to do? I've had nightmares about better dates than tonight, and now Lois is focused on getting Superman to see her romantically. I screw up our relationship, or whatever it is we had, only to find myself having to hurt her as Superman too."_

_Suddenly his hearing tuned in to a voice calling for Superman back in Metropolis. It was Lois. She didn't sound like she was in danger, either. He frowned even deeper than he had been._

"_Lois is calling for Superman, but it sounds more like a social call than any trouble. I guess that's my cue to chop her heart to bits."_

"_I'm really sorry, Clark. The way you two seemed to click since you got back, I would've bet a good sum of money that tonight would have gone well."_

_He sighed and started walking towards the front door. "Yeah, so would I. Thanks for listening to me feel sorry for myself. I could've sworn I wasn't going to let myself be mopey anymore."_

"_We're always here for you, Clark. Call me and let me know how it goes tonight."_

_He waved goodbye and let himself out the front door, closing it as he walked out. Quickly donning his Superman garb, he flew to Metropolis in good time so as to not keep Lois waiting._ _He floated down in front of her balcony, finding her standing there with her arms crossed._

"_What can I help you with, Lois?"_

"_I need to talk to you. About us."_

_He landed next to her, mimicking her crossed arm stance. "Us? I'm not quite sure what you mean."_

"_Are you seeing anybody, Superman?"_

"_The life I lead makes too many people angry with me. Were I to be involved with somebody, it would only lead to them being put in danger."_

_Lois stepped closer to him. He really hoped she didn't notice him gulping as she did so. _

"_Superman, I'm already a huge target for danger, so I don't buy that as good reason. I think we'd be great together, and being with you wouldn't be putting me in any more danger than I already put myself in."_

"_And what about your family? What about your partner, Clark Kent? From the conversations we've had, he sounds like a good friend of yours, and if we're together people would use your friendship with him to get to me."_

"_I don't think we'll be partners too much longer, truthfully. We went out on a date tonight that was just about the worst date you could_ _possibly imagine, which is just going to lead to awkwardness and tension I don't need in my life. _

"_I can get Chief to let him do a solo article or two to prove himself on his own. After that, our partnership is done and while we may see each other at work every day or have the occasional overlapping articles, I doubt it'll be more than a hello here and there. It sucks that it's turned out this way, but that can happen when friends try to date."_

_Clark was shocked he had been able to stand through that_. _She didn't think that they would even be friends anymore. He felt like somebody had just stabbed him in the heart with kryptonite and started twisting_ _it around. He took a deep breath before speaking._

"_Are you sure your friendship with Clark is ruined after one bad date? I find it hard to believe you'd give up on somebody so quickly."_

"_This was the mother of all bad dates. I had liquid and solid spilled on me, was abandoned halfway through the date because he thought he'd left his oven on, which makes no sense since we were at dinner. Why the hell would he have his oven on? I ended up having to pay for the worst date ever and on top of it all, my favorite banter partner of all time made me endure nearly a full dinner of uncomfortable silences when he know's they make me uncomfortable!"_

"_That's true for most people, Lois."_

"_It's more so for me. If things weren't going to be so damn awkward after this I'd have to think of some way to punish him."_

_He felt awful for trying to push her into being friends with him again, but he couldn't seem to keep himself from speaking. "I'm sure a lot of great relationships start despite bad first dates."_

"_That may be true, but to be honest, the bad first date with Clark is only half the problem, at least when it comes to my future relationships. I don't know if the friendship we had can be salvaged, but tonight made something abundantly clear for me: I don't want to settle for something that could be good when I think you and I could be great."_

_He sighed. "I'm sorry if I've led you on to believe that we could be together the way you think, Lois. We can't happen romantically, no matter how much either of us want it. It's too dangerous for you and it just gives people a way to try and hurt me. I'm sorry."_

_Lois was silent an unusually long time after she'd just proclaimed her disdain for uncomfortable silences. She spoke abruptly. "I don't accept that."_

"_This isn't about accepting it, Lois. It's about how things have to be."_

"_No. This is about you being a very large chicken. I'm already in danger every day, and dozens of papers have already linked us romantically, so it's not like it would really be news. No, I think you're just afraid of letting yourself be seen as something else rather than Superman. You'd just have to be a regular guy if we were together, and that scares the crap out of you, doesn't it?"_

_Clark took a step back and floated up off the balcony. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Lois."_

_She was silent a moment before speaking again. "I'll always respect what you do for the city of Metropolis and the world, Superman, but don't bother stopping by my balcony anymore. I might become too much of a target if you do."_

_Her eyes never left his, full of hurt and sadness, until she finally walked inside her apartment and locked the glass door behind her. It was the first time he'd seen her do that after they'd talked._

_---_

"Wow. Sounds like everyone involved got hurt that night."

Chloe decided to chime in. "You're not far off, Lo. You didn't talk to Superman for three weeks after that when you'd been talking a couple times a week before that like I said earlier. Clark could barely get in three words with you until just after Jack was born. Everybody came here for the holidays, including Clark and Martha, and it was not a merry Christmas."

"Not only that," Clark added, "but you had a date for a New Years Eve party we were both invited to. I went because I didn't really feel like spending the night all by myself, not knowing you'd be there, and ended up watching you and some guy more or less make out at midnight. It was a rough time for us."

"All because of one lousy date?"

"Lois, this date nearly annihilated your friendship with Clark."

"And yet here we are, married with child, soon to be children."

"Omnia vincit amor," Bruce said.

All three looked at him, not only surprised that he had finally said something but none was all that sure as to exactly what he had said. He slowly gave them all a sly smile.

"Love conquers all."


	28. Chapter 28

---- Chapter 28

Lois eyed Bruce, surprised at what he'd just said. "Wow, you really have changed. Unless you were quoting something, I don't think I'd have ever heard that phrase leave your mouth back in the day."

"Love and happiness does strange things to us all, Lois."

"I can see that. Chloe really has pulled you back from the darkness quite a bit, hasn't she?"

"She has."

Lois nodded, knowing that she wasn't going to get much more out of Bruce. She still liked his economy with words. She smiled as she watched he and his wife lean into each other a little. The two of them were really happy together.

"Well, not to ruin you two getting all happy with each other, but I am a little curious as to what happened after the so called annihilation date. I barely talked to Clark until... when was Jack born?"

"February 6th, 2014."

"Wow, I can't believe you have a son that'll be eight early next year."

"I can't believe my little boy is going to be that old either." Chloe wiped at an eye as she rolled both of them. "This wouldn't happen if I weren't pregnant, I swear. It makes my eyes far too prone to leaking."

"Right. Anyway, Smallville and I barely talked for four months. How was my relationship with Superman once he and I started speaking again?"

"A little strained," Clark said. "We would talk, but all the give and take that we'd had fell apart and things were more or less the same as they were when you talked to me as Clark Kent at the Planet. The only difference was that you tried to power through with Superman and made no such effort with me as me, almost running away a couple times when I got you alone to talk about what had happened."

Lois winced, but wasn't really surprised. "Yeah, that sounds like me."

"I wasn't shocked, really, but was a little disappointed you wouldn't even try. So I accepted it. I respected the space you wanted because what else could I do? I couldn't force you to do anything, and if I kept at it I would just drive you away further, so I just hoped that one day the tension would finally be gone and we could be friends again."

"It seems to have worked. Eventually, anyway."

Chloe spoke next. "When Jack was born, you both came out to Gotham to visit and help out. I was about sixteen kinds of sick of my best friend and my may-as-well-be sister not speaking because of one bad date. I was sick of it. I didn't want the tension around Jack."

---

"_We're here today to unite you two..."_

"_Chloe, are you trying to marry us?"_

_Chloe leveled her best glare on Lois, which was made much better by the fact that she'd slept nine hours in three days. Her cousin wilted back a bit into her chair, even going so far as to look sheepish. Clark seemed to have the good sense to stay silent._

"_As I was_ _saying, we are here to bring you two together. The tension has gone on for way, WAY too long. I'm sick of it and do not want it around my son." Chloe looked down at Jack, who was nursing quietly. She looked back up at her friends. "I want my son to be happy, and everybody that is around the two of you in this state for more than half an hour is no longer happy."_

"_Look, Chloe, I'm sorry if you think our tense relationship these days will affect Jack. Around him, there will be no tension, I promise."_

"_While I'd love to take your word for that, Clark, I trust the two of you to figure out or even ignore your own issues about as much as I trust most of the corrupt cops in the Gotham PD. You say you'll fix it, but you've been saying that for over a month now, which is the last time I sat you two down. So this is it. Either we fix it now, or the two of you cannot be together with Jack."_

_She watched both Lois and Clark sigh before the looked at each other. Clark was the first to speak._

"_Lois, I'm sorry I made everything so tense. If there was some way I could take back that night, I would do it in a heartbeat and take you somewhere else for that date."_

_Lois sat up quickly, wide eyed. "What do you mean you would have taken me out somewhere else? You still would have asked me to go out on a date?"_

"_Of course I would have. I had wanted to ask you out since before I left for my trip around the world, but I never did because I didn't think I deserved you and didn't know how I could be with you when I didn't know what was going on in my own life. When I got back, all those feelings came back when you stepped out of Chloe's dressing room at the wedding to see why Alfred was knocking. Wanting to be with you was all I thought about every time I saw you."_

"_But that date ruined everything, Smallville! We were in a good, comfortable place with each other. You were my de facto best friend because Chloe had moved to Gotham when she got married, and then we go on the worst possible date in history. Hell would have been better than that date. You ruined our friendship by asking me out!"_

"_Now hold on a second, Lois. Do you think I wanted things to go that way? I would give anything to be able to make that date go half as well as I had hoped it would. But it didn't. And yeah, it made things awkward, but you make it sound like I was the one who gave up on us being friends. That was you."_

"_Gave up? I do not give up!"_

"_Then why did you check out, huh? Why did you avoid me at work? I understand that for the first month, even two because you're so stubborn, but it's been four months and you haven't made any attempt to put this friendship back together. At least I've tried getting us some time alone so we could speak privately."_

_Lois was silent, not appearing to have an answer. Chloe was about to say something after she switched Jack from one breast to the other but Lois decided to respond. _

"_It hurts, Smallville. Whenever I see you, it physically hurts me. Do you think I wanted to lose you as a friend? I don't have anybody in Metropolis. I don't even have anybody near it. Chloe is the closest person I can talk to, and that's only over the phone._ _I don't even have your mother anymore because of this. It would be too awkward. And every single time I see you, I'm reminded of what was and what could have been."_

"_Then why wouldn't you try and fix us, Lois? You say it hurts, but you aren't trying to alleviate the pain! You're just shying away from it and taking the easy way out. Work to have a friendship with me, Lois, or we'll never be anything more than colleagues, if we even stay that."_

_Chloe couldn't decide if she should be where she was anymore. This was starting to seriously sound like something they needed to do by themselves. Looking down at Jack, though, she didn't want to interrupt him so she just sighed watched them go at it. She almost asked them to lower the volume a bit, but since Jack didn't seem disturbed by it, neither was she._

"_Oh, yeah, like you're one to talk. You were willing to throw our friendship away like it was nothing because you pined after me for all those years you spent traveling around the world. What's the matter, couldn't find any women on your travels that liked a farm boy?"_

"_There were women, Lois, but I turned them all down because I couldn't get you out of my head! I was comparing every single one of them to you and not a one of them could even get close to the standard that had been set. And yeah, I pined for you. So what?"_

"_So what? You're just making me your next Lana!"_

"_Are you kidding me? When I was so hung up on Lana I had no idea who she was. She was the cute looking girl that lived close by. She was convenient. You have always been the total opposite of convenient! For years we were friends, begrudgingly, and I got to know you. The few times you let me in behind your walls before the attack I really liked what I saw, and you got in my head and eventually my heart. Do you think when I finally realized Lana was just an ideal that I simply moved on to the next girl?"_

"_It sure as hell sounds like it, Smallville!"_

_Chloe held up a hand. "Watch the language around Jack, Lo."_

"_Right, sorry." Chloe waited for her to look over and realize she was still there, but it seemed all the acknowledgment she was getting was an impersonal apology. _

"_I knew you, Lois. I really knew what you were like, issues and all, and I still wanted you. This wasn't a Lana redux because you displayed the good and bad for everybody to see, and when you were recovering you let me in for a little while. When I fell for you it was because of who you were, not because of what you looked like."_

"_Hey!"_

"_Ok, your looks didn't hurt things any, but that was supposed to be a compliment."_

"_Thank you, I think."_

"_But that is really not the point, Lois. First, I didn't think asking you out was risking our friendship. Secondly, I was willing to risk that bad date to see if we could be as good together as I thought we could. And I wasn't the only one: Chloe and my mom both thought that you and I could have a real future and pushed me to ask sooner rather than later."_

_Oh, that couldn't possibly be good. Chloe looked up from Jack to find Lois glaring at her. She smiled sheepishly. _

"_You've left that particular detail out previously, dear cousin."_

"_Have I? That particular detail may have slipped my mind. Pregnancy can do that to a girl."_

"_No no, Jack isn't getting you out of this one. You pushed him to ask me out?"_

"_Pushed is such a strong word. I may have intimated that I thought you two might mesh well as a couple once or twice when asked, but pushed him to ask you out? I'd say that's an exaggeration, and we both know how Clark can be a little over dramatic about these things..."_

"_Hey!"_

"_Well, that is true..."_

"_Again, hey! I am not over dramatic! Chloe, you and my mom ambushed me the weekend before I asked Lois out to get me to do just that." Chloe watched him turn to Lois as he continued speaking. "My mom has a key to my apartment and they let themselves in so that they could be there when I got home from running an errand. They double teamed me until I finally agreed to ask you out by the end of the week."_

_Lois frowned over at her a moment before she looked back at Clark and sighed. "Ya know, I'm a little surprised that Mrs. Kent would take part in such a thing. I can see why you gave in, though, because she's very good at being persuasive in a very deceptive manner."_

"_You didn't have to grow up with her. She's always been right about things. And, ya know, if she thought you and I together was such a good idea, who was I to argue against asking a woman_ _I really liked out on a date?"_

"_So it wasn't all your idea to risk our friendship?"_

"_Lois, I never thought I was risking anything. I would've sworn we were strong enough to withstand the worst date."_

_Chloe watched as Lois stayed silent, her eyes locked with Clark as they watched each other longingly. Suddenly she vaulted herself into him, hugging him and making Chloe break out into a huge smile._

"_God, I've missed you Smallville."_

"_I've missed you too, Lois."_

_After a minute they finally let go of each other and turned back to face Chloe, who still hadn't wiped the smile off her face. Clark was the first to speak._

"_Uh, Chloe?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_I think Jack fell asleep."_

_Chloe quickly looked down to her son, who had indeed fallen asleep with her nipple half in his mouth. She gently pulled him away and covered herself up. Leave it to Lois and Clark to lull a baby to sleep with an argument. She was about to say something when Lois beat her to it._

"_Smallville, I'm a little surprised. I would've bet you'd be blushing the first fifty times you saw Chloe breast feeding."_

"_Why? It's more or less the most natural thing in the world."_

_Chloe thought Lois looked a little impressed. "Fair enough, Smallville."_

_---_

"Huh. Seems like we got a little cliché there for a while."

"Yeah, but it was worth it."

Lois thought for a second before speaking. "You really didn't blush when Chloe was whipping out the girls to feed Jack?"

She grinned as she watched Clark roll his eyes. She noticed Chloe had joined her in the grinning. "Yes, Lois. I was actually able to watch Chloe breast feed her son and not blush or stammer." He looked to Bruce and Chloe. "Why is it always so hard for her to believe that?"

"Because it's you, Clark. You used to get a little squirmy when it came to all things sexual, which does contain breasts. You know how shocked I was the first time I asked if you wanted to leave and you said you would if it made me uncomfortable. I just about fell over at the implication that I could feed Jack and you wouldn't start blushing and fidgeting."

"Thank you, Chloe. Bruce, would you like a turn?"

"I'm fine, thank you."

"Ok then," Lois said, "Chloe's boobs and their uses aside, what happened then?"

"We went back to Metropolis. When Perry saw that we could be ourselves with one another again, he put us back together as a team. He liked us as solo reporters, but loved the work we did in our short time as a team. Well, he loved you as a solo reporter but liked me a little better teamed with you, not that I'd ever complain about more time with you. Something about being glad to have somebody that would make sure you didn't so anything too risky."

"I've always done what it takes to get the story, risky or not. Exposing corruption and bringing justice about is rarely a clean task. Back on topic, though, how long was it before something happened between us?"

"Before we do that," Bruce interrupted, "how about we put the younger children down for the night?"

Lois looked at the nearest clock and was surprised at the time. They'd taken off from work a little early and had packed all their stuff the night before, so after they ate dinner they'd gotten to Gotham earlier than they'd figured, but time had passed quickly. She was surprised she'd gone so long without anything to eat.

"Sounds like a plan. After that, though, I'm thinking food is in order."

"Oh, good idea Lo. I'm thinking onion rings."

"Perfect." Lois turned to Clark, grinning. "Would you like to do the honors, Smallville?"

"Have I said no to anything pregnancy related yet?" He looked to Chloe. "To either of you?"

Ten minutes later, she and Chloe were both proud owners of multiple bags of onion rings and munching happily as they had put the children four and under to bed. Chloe handed one off to Jack as they all sat in the main living room.

Lois noted how much Jack looked and acted like Chloe had at the same age. He not only had inherited her hair, but her eyes and personality as well. She was having a hard time wrapping her head around the concept of a male Chloe, but Jack's friendly nature made any unease melt away. He was sitting on a couch between his parents across from Lois and Clark. She turned and spoke to Clark between bites.

"Does he know anything about my memory problems?"

Clark shook his head. "No more than any of the other kids. Given the fact that he's so much like his mother, though, I'm fairly certain we'll be telling him some of the broader details soon enough."

She smiled as he yawned, somehow looking even more like his mom when he did so.

"Ok buddy, you got thirty more minutes than all the girls, but I think it's time for you to get some rest as well."

"I'm not tired, dad."

"You never are, and yet I always seem to be carrying you up to bed after you fall asleep on the couch. Come on." Bruce pulled Jack up and then surprised him by throwing him over his shoulder as they walked up the stairs, each laughing. They soon disappeared from sight.

Lois looked back at Chloe, who wore a very content smile. "I never would have guessed Bruce would be such a good father. Well, I never thought he'd be a father, so I guess that's more the surprise than him being good at it. He's annoyingly good at everything. And you're a great mother from what I've seen, Chloe."

"You're not so bad yourself, Lois, as I may have said not too long ago. If I recall, you found that statement to be ridiculous."

Everything went quiet for a minute. Lois looked over at Clark, and he in turn looked over to her with a raised eyebrow. She smiled at him.

"Smallville, believe it or not, I always thought you'd be a good father, and you have far exceeded expectations." She leaned into him, letting her head fall on his shoulder.

"In more ways than one," she added quietly.


	29. Chapter 29

---- Chapter 29

Lois looked around at all the children in the kitchen, watching them run around like the proverbial headless chickens. Chloe stood next to her, an eyebrow raised at the situation. Each held up a hand and Lois whistled. They all stopped running and looked over to her.

"Would all children please come to order in front of us at this time."

They all ran and stopped in front of her, Jordan at the front of the group and Jack towering over all the girls. She looked at Aly and Liz, noting that the twins were a strangely perfect mix of Chloe and Bruce's features. She could see both of their parents in their faces, but couldn't say that they favored one or the other. Shaking her head, she got back to the task at hand.

"We love you kids like crazy, but five days of you guys running wild like you just were is going to drive both of us and your fathers, not to mention the General, up a wall. Martha being Martha would probably be handling it very well, but that's not the point. Just to make sure, do you guys want us up the wall?"

Four heads shook out emphaticly.

"Good, glad to hear it. Now, there are going to be three ground rules for our time together that my blonde companion here will lay out."

"One: If you're going to run, it's going to be outside under the supervision of a parent or grandparent. Jack, Aly, Liz, you all know better than that anyway. Jordan, you too."

All the children had the good sense to look chastised, all the while not looking like they had any intention of adhering to the rule.

"Two," Chloe continued, "all yelling and howling, as well as any other loud noises, should be confined to bedrooms or outside with the running. We adults love being with and talking to all of you, but when you're loud and screechy it makes the being around and talking less fun. Agreed?"

"Agreed," four small voices said.

"Good. For the last one, I'm turning this over to my esteemed cousin."

"Three: Have fun with each other. Think you guys can handle that?"

The yells of yes for an answer were a blatant disregard of rule number two, but Lois figured that they should get a pass on it this time. They all ran off to do something upstairs in one of the bedrooms, leaving Lois with Chloe.

"Hey, where are Clark and Bruce?"

"I think they had a Justice League meeting today."

"So, let me see if I've got this right. Both our husbands are part of a group of super heroes that has united to save the world from threats when, say, one of them can't handle a threat in his or her respective city."

"Yeah, and even if one of them could handle it alone, they like to send teams just to make sure. Batman doesn't like the help, though, so he almost always handles things in Gotham on his own. Superman doesn't mind it, from what I hear, but for the most part does it by himself because he doesn't need any help. He is often one to render assistance, though."

Lois wasn't surprised. "As many powers as Smallville has, it's not a shock. And knowing Bruce, his handling things all by his lonesome is exactly what I would expect."

As they sank into silence, Lois looked around the kitchen. All their stuff was very modern looking, and she didn't even recognize half the appliances on the counter. Her eyes fixated on something that could pass for a juicer, a meat grinder and some strange kind of can opener. For once she was glad that she didn't need to know her way around a kitchen.

Ok, now the silence was going on for too long. She needed something to talk about. "I put on the bracelet and saw Lara," Lois blurted out.

"_Really_? Was it the standard fare of keep her son's heart safe and you allow him to be a pinnacle for good?"

"Sounds like you've heard this a few times before."

"I've heard it an equal number of times to you forgetting, so I guess this makes number four. I like it, though. Reminds me that we do not live in a world of the norm, as little reminding of that as I actually need after the life I've had since moving to Smallville."

"That place really was a catalyst for making a life that felt normal turn into something one couldn't imagine. Seriously, after we moved to Smallville we each ended up marrying a man that wears a cape and fights crime. I'm wondering if meteor rocks can cause mental illness without actually, you know, giving people powers. In me, anyway."

Chloe shrugged. "It's entirely possible, though I'm not entirely sure that you're any more crazy than you were at the age of twelve. Up until this last bout of memory loss, I'd say you'd actually mellowed out quite a bit. I blame Jordan, because the same happened to me when I had Jack."

"Did it really?"

"For me it kind of put things into perspective. I couldn't take all the risks to get the story we once had, but it didn't diminish me as a journalist any. I had a son that depended on me." She shrugged. "I know it seems to be something common to hear from parents, but I really think it's true that having children forces you to think about your decisions more. Think about it; how many times since you've found out about Jordan have you made a decision without thinking about how it will affect her?"

"Well, once, that I recall, and that ended up with us getting shot at."

"WHAT?"

"Clark and I met with a jumpy source last week. He shot, but it wasn't so much at us as the ricochet got a little close for comfort. Fortunately, my husband is bullet proof and faster than one to boot, so I stand before you intact. Anyway, that happened and Clark reminded me that Jordan liked having both her parents around, so I do tend to think about her a lot when making decisions."

"Isn't parenthood grand?"

Lois smiled a little, happy to know she was doing something with Jordan correctly. "Alright then, how about we get back to last night's topic of the relationship history of Lois and Clark. So far we've covered until the point where we started being friends again after Jack was born and were a team at the Planet again. Now, when did we hook up?"

"Yeah, I think that I'll leave that particular story to Clark because I wasn't there for it, thankfully. What I do know is that after you two were teamed up again, things got back to normal, for the most part. Anything pertaining to your personal lives was more or less avoided, because Clark didn't have one and you weren't sure if could have one. You went out on a few dates with various men over the next couple months, and that led up to what I refer to as the Cinco de Mayo Incident."

"The, uh, what now?"

"The Cinco de Mayo Incident. I'd have been there for some of it if I could have, but it happened in Metropolis and I was here in Gotham, not to mention it was one of the first nights Bruce and I could have sex again after Jack was born. Well, one of the first nights I felt comfortable with it."

Lois held up a hand, stopping her cousin from further elaboration. "That must have been great for you, Chlo, but that's all the detail I need."

"Right."

Lois couldn't think of anything to say, and figured Chloe was suffering from the same malady since she wasn't saying anything either.

"When are Clark and Bruce going to get back?"

"You can never tell with these meetings. If it's the entire League, it can take a while. If it's just the core people like Clark, Bruce and Ollie, along with Bart, J'onn, Diana and a couple others then it shouldn't be too much longer. They have their philosophical differences at times, but don't let things get out of hand."

Lois and Chloe spent the next hour with the kids, playing a couple games and getting themselves all worn out. Lunch time was quickly approaching and there was still no sign of Bruce or Clark.

"Ok, this sucks," Lois said as she laid on a couch. "I could barely get ten feet from Clark for a week and a half before this, and now when I want him here to tell me about this so called Cinco de Mayo Incident, he won't come home from a meeting!"

"So, yell for him."

"What?"

"Yell for him. Superman always hears you, so yell. He'll hear it, even if he is on a space station."

"The Justice League meeting is on a _space station_?"

"We'll discuss that later."

Lois sighed, then raised her voice. "Alright Superman, I'm told you always hear me, so you better be hearing me now. Chloe has brought up a little something she calls the Cinco de Mayo Incident, and says you're the one to tell that story. Therefore, I expect you back at the Wayne Manor in a timely fashion to do just that. Oh, and Chloe expects the same of Bruce. I do not think you two want to come back here to pissed off pregnant women."

Thirty minutes later, Clark and Bruce were standing in front of their smiling wives. Clark's arms were crossed over his chest and Bruce's were in his pocket. Lois saw that each had a raised eyebrow and was staring at his respective spouse. She just smiled a little more before standing up and hugging Clark. She stepped back and decided to be annoying.

"You know, the least you guys could have done is bring home lunch."

Chloe broke out in laughter before popping up off the couch and wrapping Bruce up in a hug of her own. Lois smirked up at Clark, who returned it in kind.

"Oh come on, Smallville. You were at that meeting for hours and as you probably heard me say, I would like to hear about the Cinco de Mayo Incident. I'm really quite intrigued by anything that can be called an incident. Lucky it happened on a good name day, else it might have been the Arbor Day Incident or something equally as ridiculous."

"You know, we could have been discussing something vitally important up there."

"And if you had been, I would have understood not coming back in a timely manner. But since you and your companion are back half an hour after I yelled, I'm thinking that you guys weren't involved in anything that was going to save the world. At least not in the near future. Now, about lunch..."

"What about the story?"

"You can't do two things at once?"

Clark released an exasperated sigh, shaking his head. "Of course, what was I thinking?" She watched him start walking and followed as the group made its way to the kitchen, where a good portion of last nights talking had happened.

Lois watched as Clark started pulling things out from the large refrigerator and setting them on the counter.

"Let me preface this flashback by saying that I don't consider it an incident so much as just another day that happened in our lives. There were too many things going on that could actually be classified as an incident for this to make the cut."

"Oh come on, Clark," Chloe said. "This was an incident. They define incident by saying that it was what happened between you two on Cinco de Mayo of 2014." She paused a second before continuing. "You know what, I am a little bitter that I wasn't in Metropolis for it. Being able to make love to my husband again was great..."

"Your husband thought so too."

"...but I could have waited for it to have witnessed what went down."

"Your husband feels a little insulted, but isn't surprised."

"Sorry, Bruce."

Lois looked from Chloe to Bruce, then to Clark again. "Ok Smallville, enough prefacing, out with it!"

"Ok, ok. So..."

---

"_Smallville!"_

_Clark looked away from the water he was about to gulp back into his apartment. A quick glance at his watch confirmed it was late. Why was Lois trying to talk to him at 1:21am? How the hell had she even gotten into his apartment?_

_He walked back inside, slipping his glasses back on. He'd have put on some pants over his boxers but Lois was blocking the path back to his room. _

"_Lois? How did you get in?"_

"_I made a copy of Martha's key. Ya know, in case of an emergency or something."_

_He watched her fidget a second, not liking that. It generally led to something he didn't like her doing and a Superman save. He eyed her another second before speaking._

"_Should I ask why you're here, or are did you need somewhere to stand and fidget in the presence of another person?"_

"_Very funny. I need something."_

"_At 1:21 in the morning?"_

"_Yeah. On a tangent, why are you up?"_

_Gah._ _He should have seen that coming. He'd saved her from gunmen earlier in the day after she'd run off when Perry had sent him to cover a press conference at city hall. When he'd gone to bed, he couldn't get the image of her tied up with a gun pointed at her head_ _out of his, and had decided to do some fly overs of Metropolis and known trouble spots in Eastern Europe._

_He'd gotten home and taken a shower, somehow ending up standing on his balcony with just boxers and a shirt on. He was going to have to remember pants now that Lois could come and go as she pleased. Time for the easy cop out answer. _

"_Insomnia. I've had it off and on for years. What is it that you need?"_

_Clark waited for her to say something. She didn't seem to be in any hurry, though, because she was just looking into his eyes. She might be the one that hated uncomfortable silences but he felt like that one getting uncomfortable this time. What was she..._

_He didn't get to finish his thought, though, as Lois stepped up to him and pressed her body against his. She stood on her tip toes and pressed her lips lightly on his, shocking the hell out of him. He didn't know how, because he was sure his mind was permanently paralyzed, but he kissed her back. She wrapped her arms around his neck and his hands found their way to her waist of their own volition._

_They broke apart a minute later. Clark let his eyes dart around the room, making sure that he was still in his own living room and not some alternate dimension where things like this happened between them._

"_Damn it!"_

_Clark snapped out of his musings as Lois started stomping around the room in what he could only call a minor tantrum. He only caught a few words of what she was muttering to herself as the tirade played itself out, and he wasn't sure that his ears weren't singed from what he heard._

"_Uh, Lois?"_

"_What?" He noticed that she didn't stop her stomping around the apartment. _

"_Was that a really bad kiss or are you angry about something else?"_

"_It was a great kiss, but it didn't solve anything like it was supposed to!"_

"_You expect a lot from kisses."_

_She stopped and glared at him, and he took a step back before he even realized what he was doing. She apparently really did expect a lot from kisses, but what the hell was it supposed to solve? For him it was just causing problems like confusion and he really needed a pair of pants right now. Boxers were not going to hide things very well._

_He stepped away and walked to his room, hearing her start stomping around again as he found a pair of jeans and put them on. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he walked back out into the living room where Lois was downing the glass of water he hadn't had a chance to get to._

"_Feel better yet?"_

_She glanced over and gave him a small smile. "Sorry. I don't usually stomp around after I kiss somebody."_

"_I'm not complaining that you did, just surprised. Don't know why I am since you do have a stomping tendency when something vexes you."_

"_What can I say, I enjoy a good stomping every now and then. Good stress release considering... nevermind." Her eyes got shifty and his curiosity was piqued. _

"_Considering what? You know you can tell me anything, Lois."_

"_I can, but I'm not going to, so let's change the subject."_

_Clark shrugged and sat down on the couch. It was apparently going to be another long night. He motioned for her to sit down. "I know you say that you think better on your feet these days, but feel free to sit down if you want."_

"_Thanks, maybe in a minute." She looked him dead in the eye. "Are you even curious as to why I kissed you?"_

"_Considering I haven't thought about it for about two seconds and that's the longest I've made it so far, yes. But I wasn't going to push you into explaining because I knew you'd do it when you wanted to and not a second before."_

"_Good point. Fortunate for you, patience isn't something I know or you need on this one."_

"_Awesome." He said it before he realized he was speaking and winced. He looked up at her and found her raising an eyebrow at him. "So, uh, you wanted to explain?" _

_She walked over and sat down next to him on the couch. He was surprised at just how close she sat, but wasn't going to complain about something he could only enjoy._

"_I've been trying to get something out of my head for three months now. It got stuck in my head when we were hashing out our issues right after Jack was born. It's been reverberating around in there like I don't have a brain to get in the way of it bouncing off the walls of my skull. Really, I'm surprised I've been able to hold back as long as I have._

"_See, ever since we talked back then, I've wondered what would have happened if the date would have gone well. That thought led me to wondering what it would be like to kiss you, and that thought has been in my head for three months now. I've fought it with every fiber of my being."_

"_Ok..."_

"_Well, I finally came to the conclusion that the thing that would get thinking about kissing you out of my head would be kissing you. So I did, as you may have noticed."_

_Clark nodded, smiling. "I think I recall that, yes."_

"_Damn right you do. Anyway, the reason I yelled, stomped and muttered afterwards was because it was great. That was just about the most intense kiss I can remember, and now all I can think about is how good the kiss was and how much I want to do it again."_

_His head snapped around to look at her, and found her leaning closer than he remembered her being. When she licked her lips, he knew he was gone and leaned in, kissing her for all he was worth. _

_He soon found himself half laying on top of her and in the midst of an intense make out session. God, she was a great kisser. If there was a heaven, he knew that it wouldn't be any better than this. Nothing could compare, not even being Superman..._

_Superman. She didn't know he was Superman._

_It took every bit of willpower he had and some he didn't know he had to stop kissing Lois and push himself back up. He took a deep breath before speaking, wondering just how long it would be until he could speak to Lois again after this. _

"_Lois, I need to tell you something."_

_He watched her run a hand through her hair as she sat up next to him. "It must be pretty damn important if you wanted to stop that, so I'm all ears."_

"_I... I've been keeping something from you. It's something you need to know before we go any further into whatever it is we're doing."_

"_Any further requires removal of pants, Smallville. I'm sixty percent sure that won't happen tonight, but..."_

"_I'm Superman."_

_Lois froze for a second, then jumped up off the couch. He watched her start stomping around again, which was a strange reaction to say the least. The people downstairs were going to hate him. _

"_What?"_

"_I'm Superman." He stood up, pulling off his glasses and standing straight as himself for the first time he could remember. Chloe had told him the slouch was what really sold the difference between Clark Kent and Superman._

"_I should have told you, Lois. I've wanted to tell you, but I didn't. The truth is, I was afraid. Afraid you'd hate me for keeping something like this from you. Afraid that instead of not talking to you much for months on end, it would be years. Most of all, afraid you'd see me differently."_

_He stopped talking, noticing that Lois had stopped walking around but had her back turned to him._

"_Not to be glib, but having you see me differently seemed like a good idea for a while."_

_She spun and fixed him with a look that made him feel like he'd been hit with kryptonite._ _The hurt was radiating from her eyes._

"_I told Superman things I haven't even told Chloe. Very personal things that nobody else in the world knows, or so I thought. Tell me what my greatest hope is, Clark. If you're Superman, you know."_

_Clark sighed. "Your greatest hope is that you'll find somebody that can love you without feeling sorry for you because of the attack. Your greatest hope is that you don't forget again, so that on the off chance you do find somebody you love instead of settling for a guy that's just ok down the line, you get to remember him and how happy you two are. And most of all, your greatest hope that your friends and family can be happy. That one isn't something you told me as Superman."_

"_I trusted you."_

"_I know."_

"_More than any other man in my life. Ever."_

"_I know."_

"_You've hurt me like nobody else I know."_

"_I know."_

_Silence enveloped them. Clark couldn't pry his eyes away from hers, and she made no move to look away from his. He couldn't tell how much time had passed as they stood there, but didn't really care either._

"_Never again."_

"_Never again?"_

"_Promise me you'll never hurt me again."_

"_Nobody can make that promise, Lois. Promising not to hurt somebody is the easiest way to hurt somebody down the line. It's not a promise anybody in the world can keep."_

"_Then promise you won't do it purposefully."_

"_If I have any choice in it, I'll never hurt you. I promise."_

"_That's not what I asked."_

"_It's all I can do."_

"_You're really Superman?"_

"_Red and blue."_

"_What?"_

"_You have red and blue underwear on."_

"_I do."_

"_I want us to stay friends."_

"_I know."_

"_You're the most amazing woman I've ever met."_

"_I know."_

"_Neither of us is going to be well rested for work tomorrow."_

"_I know."_

"_Let's take the day off. The reason I couldn't sleep tonight was because of seeing you with a gun pointed at your head. I couldn't get the image out of my head."_

"_You worry about me a lot, don't you?"_

"_Every day."_

"_Thank you, and quit it."_

"_Would that I could."_

"_What now?"_

"_I was hoping you could answer that."_

"_Would that I could."_

"_Touché."_

"_I don't want to leave."_

"_Then don't."_

"_I don't know where we stand."_

"_That's nothing new."_

"_If we'd gone to the clothes optional stage of life and you'd told me then, I don't know what I'd have done. I may have never wanted to see you again. As it is... I'm not sure."_

"_If I'd have let something like that happen, I don't think I'd have been worthy of the job I do."_

"_You wanted to be with me as Clark Kent and not Superman, didn't you?"_

"_Clark Kent is who I am. Superman is what I do."_

"_Then why all the excuses about it being too dangerous for us to be together?"_

"_You being with Superman is too dangerous. You'd become a target, and knowing I'd put you in danger more than you already were would drive me crazy. Everything I said about that was true."_

"_Then why not just tell me the truth?"_

"_Because I was a coward. Because I was using Superman to be close to you when I couldn't be close as myself. It was an odd feeling, to be jealous of myself."_

"_That's a pretty underhanded for you, Clark Kent."_

"_I know. I felt guilty all the time, but being near you made me forget myself, Lois Lane." _

_Lois walked over, moving from her spot for the first time in what Clark estimated was near to forty five minutes, and hugged him. He hugged her back as best he knew how. _

"_I'm taking your bed tonight," she mumbled into his chest._

_He smiled for the first time in what felt like years. "Shocking."_

_---_

"So, you told me you were Superman because we were about to sex each other?"

She watched Clark chewing a bite of one of the sandwiches he'd made. He hadn't had the chance to eat much while telling the story, so he hadn't wasted time before digging into one. He finally swallowed.

"An odd way of putting it, but yes. If we'd gone down that road before I told you, I don't think we'd be married and part of a family. I don't even know if we'd still be talking to each other." He paused for a second. "Well, considering you would forget about it, we might be friends, but every time I told you about it you probably wouldn't talk to me for a month or six."

"At least," Lois added. "So, that was the Cinco de Mayo Incident?"

"Hardly," Chloe said. "That was just the warmup. Most of the rest of the day was just as intense, if not more so."

"Wow. Hell of a day."

Clark pushed an empty plate away from himself. "Yeah, no kidding. So, where were we? Oh yeah. So, we got a little sleep, but not much. Then we head into the Planet. What happened next will probably surprise you."

"After all this, you think I can be surprised?"

"Yeah, because what happened was..."


	30. Chapter 30

---- Chapter 30

_Clark covered his mouth as he walked through the bullpen at the Planet, unsuccessfully stifling a yawn. After further talk last night, he and Lois had decided that they would come into work, sleep deprivation and all. He'd flown over to her apartment and grabbed some clothes for her to wear for work, and had said goodnight to her smiling at him as she closed his bedroom door._

_He was still shocked she hadn't walked out on him. His heart had stopped when she'd said never again, because knowing Lois, he would have sworn she was going to say she was never going to let him hurt her again and walked out. As it was, things were not only way better than he'd expected after that conversation, but they were just all around better than he could have hoped. _

_She'd kissed him! Better yet, she'd been thinking about kissing him and what cold have been for months, just like he had. That fact was getting him through the day, because he'd barely slept for three days. After last night, he'd been so revved up that things were going to hell that sleep had been evasive at best. The previous couple had been full of saves. He may not need as much sleep as a human did, but three days without and heavy Superman duty was taking its toll._

"_Kent! Get in here!"_

_Clark was about to sit down but straightened back up a little bit, leaving his shoulders in their usual workplace slouch as he walked back to Perry's office. He walked in and closed the door behind him._

"_You bellowed, Chief?"_

_Perry handed him a file folder, not saying anything. Clark looked in it, finding documents about military personnel in Washington D.C. and other areas of the world._

"_What is this?"_

"_An old contact of mine got that to me today. He says that all the military personnel in that file are part of a joint LexCorp and a rogue government agency plan to take out the Justice League."_

_Clark's head shot up from the file to Perry, his eyes wide. Perry couldn't know, could he? "Then why are you giving this to me? This story has Lois written all over it."_

"_Keep looking at the files."_

_Confused, Clark flipped through the personnel names, going through it until he stopped at a name._

"_That can't be right."_

"_That's why I didn't give this to Lois. If this all checks out then she's not going to be able to stay objective. Hell, I don't mind my writers getting personally involved in a story, just look at Lois, but handing something like this to her would be like handing dynamite to a pyromaniac."_

_Clark sighed, flipping the file folder closed and rubbed at his forehead with his free hand. "I can't lie to her, Chief. I'd been keeping something from her for a while now and told her last night. She understood and we're closer because of it. If I do this and don't tell her about it after that, though, she will hurt me."_

_Clark watched as Perry sat down behind his desk, frowning and rubbing his hands together. "I'm not going to tell you_ _that you can't tell Lois about this. No offense, but she's the best and would really help find out if this is legitimate quickly."_

"_None taken, Chief. I know that she's better than me at finding the facts about things, no matter how much trouble it gets her into. That being said, I think she has the right to know. She will remove parts of me that I'm fond of if I don't tell her."_

"_Fine. Take her into a conference room and show her the file."_

"_I take it you don't want to be there for this."_

"_I'm sure I'll be seeing her about it, there or not, since I'm the one that got the information."_

_Clark looked at the closed folder once more before nodding to Perry and walking out. Lois had gotten like three hours of sleep, and now he had to break this kind of news to her. She was going to think the worst, then kill him for being the messenger. The part he dreaded was that she was going to be hurt. He'd seen enough of that last night._

_He walked over to Lois's desk, where she was chewing on a pencil and staring at her computer screen. There were two empty Starbuck's cups on her desk and a coffee mug within arms length. Maybe he should go get her some more first. After stopping and thinking a second, he doubted it would help any. He finally got to her after bumping into somebody and apologizing._

"_Lois?"_

_She turned to look at him as she pulled the pencil from her mouth. "What's up, Smallville?"_

"_Let's go talk in the conference room."_

_She looked back to her screen a second before nodding and standing up, grabbing her coffee cup and walking to the conference room. He followed, a few steps behind. This was just not his day as far as having to tell Lois stuff went._

_Clark watched as Lois leaned back against the conference table, looking at him with curiosity. "Ok, here we are. What's going on?"_

_Clark handed her the file folder and watched her start to flip through. "Perry got this from an old source today. These people are supposedly involved in a joint venture of LexCorp and a rogue government agency to take out the Justice League."_

"_Are you kidding me?"_

"_I don't know yet. I got the file about three minutes before you did."_

"_Speaking of, why did Chief give you this and not me? This is my kind of story because of my contact with Superman." She looked up at him, smirking. "Because_ _of my contact with you, I guess." _

"_Glad to be of help. The reason he gave it to me is because..."_

"_Holy shit."_

"_Yeah."_

_She looked up at him. "This is wrong. It has to be wrong."_

"_Let's prove it."_

_The room was quickly silent as Lois read the file and Clark stood there with his hands in his pockets. He didn't want to interrupt her but he also wanted to tell her that everything was going to be ok._

"_What are you going to do about this?"_

_Clark shook his head, pulling himself from his musings and looked to Lois. "What do you mean?"_

"_What I mean is that somebody is possibly threatening the Justice League with LexCorp backing it. What are you, being you, going to do about it?"_

_Clark shrugged. "I'll get word up to the others and investigate with you."_

"_That's it?"_

"_Were you expecting something more?"_

"_I don't know. Superman... you and I never really delved too far into the topic of the Justice League. I always meant to, but we would get on to a different topic and I'd forget about it."_

"_Don't you usually write your questions down?"_

_Lois rolled her eyes and stood up. "We were just talking when you stopped by my balcony, not doing interviews. It's not like I was going to try and script my questions to a friend about his work. That would be strange, even for me." _

"_True." Clark took the file from her and sped read through it. "Well, there's nothing in here directly linking anybody to LexCorp or an attack on the League." He looked up at Lois, who was frowning. "What?"_

_She waved a hand at the file. "Now I know how you get things done so quickly. I always thought you'd just taken a speed reading course and done a lot of typing, but with what I know now, things make a lot more sense."_

_Clark smiled at her. "Guess I lost all my mysterious qualities, didn't I?"_

"_Yeah, but you gain everything you lost and a lot more by being somebody that saves people and the world." Lois snapped her fingers. "That's why you're always making the lame excuses and running off!"_

"_Correct."_

"_I knew you couldn't forget your wallet or leave your oven on every single day. Or forget dry cleaning that often, not to mention appointments with doctors and dentists. You don't even see them, do you?"_

"_No dentists. I've had a couple doctors, though. We can talk about that later, though. I'm going to go talk to... you know who Batman is, don't you?" It just struck him as he was about to say the name Batman. Lois knew Bruce, both claiming to be very close._

_In response to his question, she nodded. "Well then, I'm going to go see Bruce and let him know about this. He can get in touch with everybody faster than I can."_

"_Really?"_

"_Yeah. I have to find them while Bruce can get in touch with them with the comm system in a snap."_

"_Chloe knows too, doesn't she?"_

"_Yeah, for a while now." He thought about it for a moment, trying to come up with the years. "It's been about nine years now, actually. I can't believe that it's been that many years, even if I was absent for about half of them._

"_Anyway, like I said, we can talk about this later. I'm going to go talk to Bruce and be back in about half an hour, ok?"_

"_Sounds good. I'm going to do some more background on these names, which should take approximately the same amount of time." _

_Clark smiled at her and walked out of the room, making his way over to the stairwell. He x-rayed up to the roof, finding nobody there or in between, and sped up to it. He took off a second later, having switched into his Superman suit, and sped towards Gotham. A moment later he was landing in front of the Wayne Manor, back in his work clothes and ringing the doorbell. Alfred soon opened it._

"_Ah, Mr. Kent. Please come in."_

"_Thanks, Alfred. Is Bruce here?"_

"_He's sleeping. Would you like me to wake him?"_

"_Yes, please. This isn't urgent, but it needs to be looked into sooner rather than later."_

_A few minutes later, Bruce was walking into the den Clark was sitting in. He stood up, giving the man an apologetic smile. "Sorry to wake you, Bruce."_

"_Don't worry about it, Jack and my other duties would have had me up soon anyway. What's going on?"_

"_I got a file at work today. Perry received information on military officials working for a rogue government agency and LexCorp. Their supposed target is the League."_

"_Where's the file?"_

"_Lois has it back at the Planet. She's doing further research into the background of everybody in it as we speak. I'll have a copy of everything in it to you by this evening. Right now, though, I think you should let everybody know so they can keep their eyes open for any possible surveillance or odd happenings."_

"_They'll know soon enough. Come on."_

_Clark followed Bruce and both were soon in the Batcave. Bruce had already contacted Oliver, Bart and Diana and was attempting to get A.C. _

"_I'm going to head back to Metropolis, Bruce," Clark said. "You know everything I know and I told Lois I'd be back from seeing you by now."_

"_Wait, you told Lois you were going to come here? Why?"_

"_I told her I'm Superman last night."_

"_About time. You do know my wife is going to kill you for not bringing her in to help with that task, don't you?"_

"_I hadn't thought about it until you mentioned it, but yes, she'd going to make sure Jack is safely with you and then find a way to harm me. You don't keep kryptonite around, do you?"_

"_Fortunately for you, no."_

_Clark let out a sigh of relief. He couldn't believe that he hadn't told Chloe about the fact that Lois knew yet, even if he was working on minimal rest. Poor Jack was going to lose his Uncle Clark before he even really got to know him. Clark pulled at his tie a little bit. Poor Uncle Clark was more like it._

"_Ok then. I'm going to head back because Lois is bound to do something rash. Now that her partner is virtually indestructible, she's liable to do even more things that will scare years off my life, however long it may be."_

"_Good luck."_

_Clark flew out of the Batcave and back to Metropolis, landing on the roof of the Planet . He decided to walk down the stairs at normal speed, which took him a few minutes but he finally got down to his floor. He walked into the bullpen, looking around for Lois but not spotting her._

"_Kent! Where have you been?"_

_Clark looked over at Perry, who was standing next to his desk. "I had an errand to run, chief. What's going on?"_

"_What's going on is Lois rushed out of here about twenty minutes ago yelling something about clearing a name. You know what I'm talking about."_

"_Yeah. Any idea where she went?"_

"_No."_

"_Alright, I'll try to find her." Clark grabbed the file off of Lois's desk and handed it to Perry. "Could you have somebody make copies of everything in here?"_

"_Consider it done. Jimmy!" _

_Clark walked to the elevators, getting into one as it opened up and hitting the lobby button. It seemed to take forever but he finally got to the ground floor. He stepped out of the building, watching people shuffle by. It was a beautiful day, really, and he'd have noticed it more if he wasn't so focused on finding Lois. How was he going to do it, though?_

_He joined a throng of people walking then ducked into an alley a second later. He quickly switched clothes and took off flying, looking at the city below. He was probably overreacting, really. Lois was probably not doing anything insane like she usually did. He bet that she had just been..._

_Oh, who the hell was he kidding? She was out there doing what she did best in all likelihood, and it was only going to be a matter of time before..._

"_Superman!" _

_Clark's hearing picked up on Lois calling him. He sped back towards it, pushing himself to be faster. He stopped above an ordinary looking building not far from the Planet. He x-rayed the building and spotted Lois tied up in a room that also contained two guys with knives. _

_He sped down into the building and to Lois's position. He knocked out the men without any hassle and moved over to Lois, tearing the ropes away, followed by the rag they'd tied around her mouth._

"_Are you ok?"_

"_I'm fine. Nothing out of the ordinary, really."_

"_How did you even yell for me with that gag on?"_

"_They didn't gag me until I called for you."_

"_They bad guys never learn, do they?"_

"_Doesn't look like it, no."_

_Clark smiled and pulled her into a hug, which she reciprocated. He let her go a second later. "Sorry, it's just..."_

_She smiled at him. "I feel the same way."_

"_How do you manage to get into this much trouble in the half hour that I was in Gotham talking to Bruce? It's almost like you have your own power: able to find trouble in a single bound."_

"_Ha. Ha. Your attempts at humor aside, I found something that a few of the people in the file had in common and that was this place. Welcome to Panther Corp."_

"_Panther Corp? What do they do here?"_

"_I don't know, that's why I came. What I do know," she said as she reached into her blouse, "is that I have these documents and would like to go back to the Planet to look them over."_

_He smiled as he saw her break out into a wide grin. He didn't know how she did it, but she always seemed to get what she wanted, even when taken hostage. "Sounds like a plan." He picked her up and flew them out of there, this time landing and setting her down in front of the Planet. Time to put on the act._

"_Please, Miss Lane, be more careful in the future."_

"_You know me, Superman."_

"_That's why I'm asking."_

_Clark flew off, landing nearby after making a quick inspection of the city. He walked back to the building and took the elevator up, pushing his glasses up his nose as he exited into the bullpen. He spotted Lois talking to Perry by their desks, and walked over to them. Yet another show to put on. "Lois! Where'd you go?"_

"_I was out being a journalist, Smallville. You'll have to try it sometime." _

"_I'll see what I can do. Are you ok?"_

"_I'm fine. Superman saved me, everything worked out fine. Plus, we got these." She lifted up the papers as evidence of her success._

"_Lois, hun, I don't know how you do it, but you always do. You and Clark are going to crack this in no time. Keep me updated."_

_Clark watched Perry head back to his office before turning back to Lois. "So, what exactly did you get over there aside from bound and gagged?"_

"_I found that all the people in that file that were ex-military had done or were currently doing consulting for that company, Panther Corp. According to these papers, they're a security firm for the high and mighty, providing top level guards and technology for a few Fortune 500 businesses. Want to take a wild guess about who recently acquired it?"_

"_LexCorp."_

"_Right. I'm thinking baldy knew their reputation and is using them to get the best security he can for something. The papers are a print out of the LexCorp account. I was shocked that they didn't have the stuff encrypted or something, but I'm not going to complain. We now know all the security measures they've taken and where the facility is."_

"_That's almost too good to be true."_

"_I know. I haven't had a chance to check into anything, of course, but we'll probably have some more answers in a few hours."_

_A few hours later, Lois and Clark were stumped. The facility that was listed on the paper did not exist, at least not so far as they could tell. The road didn't exist and the building didn't exist. Clark had even done a flyover to make sure and there was nothing, after which he'd felt ridiculous because he was trying to find something that didn't exist._

"_This explains the easily acquired papers."_

"_If you call being taken prisoner easy, I'm afraid of what you classify as difficult."_

"_You know what I mean, Smallville." Lois tossed the papers on the desk and picked up the file folder again. "I just can't figure out why she's in here. Lucy isn't military, yet she's in a file with a bunch of current and former military personnel, possibly involved with a plot to take down the Justice League._

"_I talked to her recently and she sounded great. She's on good terms with the General and has a steady job in D.C. She even has this new boyfriend named Paul! Everything points to her being a regular person, or at least as regular as a Lane can get, but now I find out she may be involved in this. What the hell happened?"_

_Clark leaned forward, running a hand through his hair. "We'll figure this out, Lois. I promise."_

"_But when? We don't know if this is legitimate, and if it is, we don't know what their plan is or when it's going to happen. They could have kryptonite, Clark, and knowing Lex probably do. What would happen if they actually took out some of the Justice League?"_

"_That isn't going to happen, Lois, I promise. We won't let it." He wasn't sure if he meant that the League wouldn't or the two of them wouldn't, but he knew that one way or another he needed to be correct. Neither of his teams could let something like this happen._

"_Damn!"_

_Clark had looked away for a second but turned back to find Lois sucking on one of her fingers. "What happened?"_

"_Paper cut," she said around her finger._

"_That big a damn for a paper cut?"_

"_Hey, trying to prove that my little sister isn't part of a plan to take out a couple people I'm very close to, not to mention people that save lives, is leaving me a little stressed out, ok?"_

_Clark held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry, sorry." He picked up the copy of the files on his desk. "Look, I'm going to take these to Bruce. Since we never stopped for lunch and it's basically dinner time, albeit an early one, you want me to bring something back?"_

"_No, I'm just going to order some Chinese."_

"_I can get better stuff, I promise. Very authentic, if you get my drift."_

_She eyed him for a second before shrugging. "Fine. I doubt it could happen, but if you bring back food that isn't as good as the stuff we usually order, I'm going to get some from our usual place and make you pay for it."_

"_Deal."_

_Clark flew to Gotham and dropped the file off with Bruce, then quickly took off for China. Twenty minutes later he was landing on the roof of the Planet. He quickly switched into his suit again and sped down the stairs and walked into the bullpen, setting the food down on his desk. He looked around but couldn't find Lois anywhere. He walked over to Perry's office and knocked on the door, entering when a gruff response came._

"_Chief, have you seen Lois?"_

"_Not in the past few minutes. Why?"_

"_No reason, really. I just brought us some food and figured she'd want to get at it while it's hot but..." _

_Clark looked back towards their adjoining desks and found Lois digging into one of the cartons of food. "Nevermind. Guess she was just in the restroom or something."_

_Clark walked back to his desk, smiling as Lois spotted him. "What were you doing in Perry's office?"_

"_Looking for you. I've left here twice today and you were gone both times I got back. After this morning, I was playing the odds that you'd left to follow a hunch."_

"_Sorry, just a bathroom break."_

_They ate quietly, each lost in thoughts about what could happen if the implications about the people in the file were true. While Clark certainly didn't want an attack on his friends, he didn't want to see Lois get hurt either by having her sister involved in something like this. If such a plan came to fruition and was executed, he had no idea what would happen to Lucy if she were caught. _

_He put his food down and flipped through all the files again. Other than the Panther Industries connection Lois had found, he hadn't been able to get anything on these people. Aside from her, they were all exemplary soldiers; from a General to some Privates, not a one of them had a bad mark on his record. The fact that they could be involved in a plot with LexCorp... it just didn't seem right._

"_I think we're going about this the wrong way."_

"_What?"_

_Clark sat up from his slightly reclined position and let his elbows rest on his desk. "I said I think we're going about this the wrong way. Instead of finding connections about them that aren't listed, we need to figure out what the common thread is between all of them. I mean, not a one has a black mark on his record. We both checked that to make sure. Let's take this down to the basic facts and see what they have in common, like we should have from the beginning."_

"_Alright, so they're all strangely prone to good behavior, outside of the fact that they're allegedly trying to off some of Earth's best inhabitants." She paused a second. "I need to be able to see the information without flipping through the folder." _

_Lois grabbed the file, a couple cartons of food and her bottle of water and started walking back towards a conference room. Clark quickly grabbed the rest of the food and followed. He found Lois starting to lay out each of the files on top of the conference table. Once done, she started in on her rice again._

"_Check where they're all from, Smallville."_

_He did as asked. What he found was surprising. "Huh."_

"_What?"_

"_They're all from Metropolis or a nearby city."_

"_That's unusually helpful, and I feel stupid for not checking it sooner. Nice of these jackass traitors to be born so nearby, though."_

"_I wonder..." Clark quickly wrote down all the names and walked out of the conference room. He found Jimmy standing near Perry's office. _

"_Jimmy!"_

"_Yeah, CK?" _

"_I need you to check these names for me, all records you can find about most current residence."_

_Jimmy took the list from him, giving it a quick once over before giving a nod. "You got it."_

_Clark walked back to the room and found that Lois hadn't moved while he was gone. "I'm having Jimmy check all current residences for the people we have files on."_

"_I'm going to go out on a limb and say he's going to have a problem finding anything. Lex wouldn't be sloppy enough to let men he's working with be listed in anything. No, what we need to do is find Lucy."_

"_What?"_

"_If I can find Lucy and talk to her... I don't know. I just need to find her."_

"_Why don't you call they General, see if he might know. They've been pretty close ever since your attack. I wouldn't find it a stretch if he knew where she was, even if she was supposed to be under the radar."_

"_I already did. He said that he talked to her a couple days ago when he was in D.C., but she had a plane to catch not long after they had lunch and couldn't tell him where she was going. She claimed it was because of work."_

"_What company does she work for?"_

"_Um, Yuan Cell."_

"_What do they do?"_

"_I have no idea. I was so happy that Lucy had settled down and taken a real job I never bothered to do a background check on the company. Call me crazy, but I didn't think I had to. I know Lucy was running from the authorities for a long time, but I really thought she'd cleaned her act up this time."_

"_We don't know anything yet, Lois, not really. Don't jump to any judgements yet. Even with her history, give Lucy the benefit of the doubt because this seems pretty ambitious for her. I'm going to go out and see what information I can find on them. Keep checking those files for commonalities."_

_Clark headed out to his desk, sitting down and typing in Yuan Cell for a search. He came up with three companies that didn't even have a website in English and one that did, so he found a phone number for it and dialed._

"_Yuan Cell Technologies, this is Barbara. How may I direct your call?"_

"_Hi, this is Clark Kent of the Daily Planet. I was wondering if you could connect me to an employee based out of Washington D.C. named Lucy Lane."_

"_I'm sorry, sir, but our company doesn't have any employees based anywhere but our office here in Des Moines."_

"_Ok, thank you very much." _

_Clark put the phone down, frowning. He had thought as Lois had, that Lucy had turned herself around and started a clean life for herself. Sighing, he stood up and walked back into the conference room, where he found Lois staring at a piece of paper. He didn't think she'd even heard him come in again until she spoke._

"_Struck out, didn't you?."_

"_How'd you know?"_

_She held the piece of paper up, which he took from her hand and looked at._

_YUAN CELL LUCY LANE_

"_It's an anagram," he breathed out, his shoulders slumping. He looked back to her as she rested her face in her hands._

"_You got it, Smallville." _

"_How you kids doing in here?"_

_Clark looked over to Perry, who was standing in the doorway holding his jacket. "We've had better days, Chief. We thought we had some early success today, but that turned out to be fairly useless and haven't come up with much since."_

"_Well, I'm headed home for the night, and both of you look like you could use a good nights sleep. Don't work too late. Lois, I'm sorry about all this."_

"_Thanks, Perry."_

_Clark gave him a weak smile and nod goodbye, watching him walk away before turning and looking out the window at the Metropolis skyline. The sun was setting behind the jumble of skyscrapers. He looked at Lois, and found she was sitting back in her chair, staring off into space. He sat down next to her._

"_Perry's right, Lois. We should head home, get some sleep. We're both working on minimal sleep after last night, which was exhausting in its own right."_

"_If I'm on my own, I'm liable to get myself into trouble, which I'm too tired for, or worse yet, brood on my sisterly failures. If it's alright, I'm just going to crash at your place."_

"_You don't even have to ask, Lois."_

_The cab ride to his place was quiet. Clark would glance over at Lois every couple minutes to find her staring out the window. He hated that this was taking such a toll on her. She'd already started blaming herself for the situation if the sisterly failures line was any indication. He wished she wouldn't be so hard on herself when it came to the failures of others, but doubted it would be easy to break her of a long standing habit._

_They got to his building and he paid the driver. They walked into the building silently, and rode up in the elevator the same way. He almost felt like he was back in the time when she'd barely talk to him, but he knew her mind was elsewhere and he didn't want to push her into a conversation she didn't want. _

_Clark held the door to his apartment open for Lois as she walked in and closed it behind himself. Taking off his jacket, he walked to his room and tossed it on the bed, then loosened his tie and tossed it with his jacket before walking back out to the living room and finding Lois sitting on the couch and staring out into space. He couldn't hold his silence anymore._

"_Are you ok?"_

"_I don't know, Smallville. I thought I was done with all this Lucy bullshit, but here I am again, trying to figure out what she's doing, where she's doing it and why. No, you know what," she said, "I'm not alright. Today was already going to be a long day because of the very little sleep, but add this kind of news on it and I feel like I've run two marathons today._

"_I mean, this day went from us making out like horny teenagers to you dropping a freaking bombshell on me that your Superman. And hey, I think I handled the situation like a pro. After that, I get a few hours sleep, we make our way into the Planet and I find out that my sister may very well be involved in a plot to kill you, Bruce and all the other members of the Justice League. _

"_Today has gone from high to low, and I can't seem to stop it from going lower." She stood up and walked over to him. "I'm sick of it. I don't want to feel low anymore." Clark watched her stop right in front of him, staring into his eyes. Suddenly she grabbed his shirt and pulled him down, kissing him demandingly._

_Well, who was he to refuse her demands?_

_Clark kissed her back for all he was worth, really hoping that it would never end. After last night, he hadn't known if he'd ever have the chance to kiss her again, and here she was initiating things. Leave it to Lois to take huge news like that in stride._

_He quickly found himself being guided back through his bedroom door as they broke apart to catch their breath. Clark watched her breathe heavily as she stared at him through what he could only describe as hungry eyes. It only lasted a second though before she lunged at him again, this time getting her tongue into the act right away and yanking at his shirt, which quickly lost its buttons and was pulled off. _

_Before he knew it, he'd lost his undershirt and pants and they were on the bed, Lois in her bra and skirt straddling him in his boxers as they kissed. Clark started focusing his kisses on the spot where her neck met her collarbone, which produced a sound somewhere between a moan and a purr. Whatever it was, it made him throb just a little more than he had been._

_Lois pulled herself up off him and unzipped her skirt, pulling it off. Clark sat up a second later, going back to kissing that great spot and started moving down, kissing her until he got to the top of her breast. With a flick of his finger, he tore her bra in half and threw it away._

"_Hey-oh god..."_

_Clark had started licking around her nipple, teasing it until he finally took it in his mouth and started sucking on it. She was moaning again, and her hips had started grinding into his, eliciting the same response in him. He switched to her other breast, giving it the same treatment he'd given the first._

_Very quickly, Clark found himself sans boxers and Lois sans underwear. He wished he could have been surprised she was on top, but with his limited brain function at the moment, he was shocked that he could even be aware of his own name._

_Lois kissed him lightly and took hold of him, his eyes nearly rolling up into his head. It had been a long time since he'd been in a position even remotely like this, and that had been him doing everything. This was Lois in her usual role of taking command and making things happen. _

_Very suddenly, Clark thought of something. He thought he might die if this came back to bite him in the ass, but it needed to be brought up._

"_Protection," he mumbled._

"_What?" She stroked him again with her hand and he just about lost the will to speak._

"_I don't have any... protection..."_

"_On the pill." _

_She stroked him one last time then positioned him at her entrance, not pausing before sliding down on top of him. Clark just about lost it right there. He opened his eyes after a second and found her with her eyes closed, mouth slightly open before she opened her eyes and locked in on his. They just stayed like that a moment before she started moving, Clark's hips thrusting up to meet her of their own volition._

_This was too good, and the way she was staring at him... He leaned up and kissed her, unable to stop himself. Her pace increased, and he found himself making noises he didn't know he could make. Their tongues started moving in a very similar rhythm to their bodies and Clark grabbed her hips, hoping to slow her down to make things last._

_Did she just growl?_

_He could feel her fighting his grip, so he moved one hand from her hips to her butt, squeezing it lightly. Soon his other hand started migrating and she picked up the pace again. He could feel her contracting around him and knew it was just a matter of time, for him anyway. Her moans and various other sounds were getting a lot louder, and he hoped it meant she was there because he was._

_When she yelled his name, all control disappeared and he let himself go, thrusting up one last time as he came inside her. He couldn't tell, but he might have been yelling her name. His brain was too numb to know one way or another._

_Lois collapsed on his chest. It took a second to get started, but he wrapped an arm around her, knowing that it was just about the extent of his physical abilities at the moment. He thanked every deity he could think of for not having somebody call for help and interrupt them. After years of questioning it, maybe somebody up there, out there, wherever, really did like him._

"_Ok," Lois said, "I can't believe that you've only had sex once before this. That was... so good I can't think of a word worthy to describe it."_

_He smiled down at her, but could only really see the top of her head. "I guess I was just waiting for the right woman."_

_He watched her crane her neck to look at him, eyeing him a second before she shook her head and scooted up, resting her head on his chest and yawning. "That is just the cheesiest thing I've ever heard, Smallville, and I totally believe it." She closed her eyes and kissed his chest. "Ok, nap time, then round two... wow, you have a great chest..."_

_He could barely make the final few words out as she mumbled herself into slumber. He felt his eyes drooping and looked at Lois one last time before allowing his eyes to fall shut. The last thought he had before falling asleep was about how much he loved Lois._


	31. Chapter 31

---- Chapter 31

"I knew it! I knew I was the one to do the jumping, no matter when it happened. Memory or not, it is a fact that Lois Lane is far more bold than Clark Kent."

"You say that like I'm going to argue the point, Lo. Quite the opposite. While a lot of times that boldness can get you into trouble, it also brings about a lot of times I enjoy greatly."

"Times you _enjoy greatly_? Jeez, Smallville, call it what it appears to really be which is mind blowing se... hey Jordan!" Had she really almost just said mind blowing sex in front of her daughter? She wouldn't have known what it meant, but she was going to have to keep an eye out. Lois was a little surprised the situation hadn't happened sooner.

"I'm thirsty."

Before Lois could answer, Chloe piped up. "What would you like, sweetheart? We've got pretty much whatever your heart desires."

"Milk, please."

While Chloe moved over to the fridge, Lois looked at Clark, who was smiling. "You appear to be happy that you passed on your love for lactose."

"I'm just happy she takes after me in any way. As you may have noticed, her personality is much like her mother's. The fact that she loves milk is, so far, the only personality trait I seemed to have passed on. Anything else is too subtle to have noticed, and trust me, I've been paying attention."

Lois watched Jordan sip at her milk next to Chloe. After having quenched her thirst, the little girl handed the glass back and ran off to go play some more.

"Yes, well, I'm not all that thrilled that she seems to be a mini me. I know what being me entails, and lemme tell ya, it isn't a picnic. But hey, at least she probably won't be a brooder."

"There's nothing wrong with an occasional brood. Now, yes, I was prone to do so more than occasionally..."

"Understatement of the year, that."

"Yeah," Chloe added, "I think you were prone to occasional bouts of normal in between broods there for a while. And yet, my cousin fell for you and I fell in love with somebody that did it more often and better. The hell does that say about us?"

"It says you are a compassionate, caring women that like their men introspective, dear."

Lois looked over at Bruce, an eyebrow raised. "I didn't know that brooding and introspection were the same thing. They might have been similar for you, but Clark was in no way thinking about his thoughts. He was being mopey." She grinned and looked over at Clark.

"I wasn't _always_ being mopey, but yeah, my introspection was limited." He glanced down at his watch and grimaced. "Dang, I'm late. I was supposed to be in Smallville to pick up mom ten minutes ago."

She watched him jog out of the room, then turned to her hosts. "So, when is everybody else due to get here? Who does everybody else consist of?"

"The General, and he should be here soon. I'm not sure what time he was due in, but when we talked before you lost your memory you said it would be around dinner time when his plane got in. It is now that time, as you may have noticed."

"I did. What are we doing for food once everybody is here?"

"No clue. We could send Clark out for food once everybody is settled and we decide what we want."

"You know, with as much as he goes out to get food, I feel like I should be tipping him whenever he comes in holding bags. Maybe I'll be able to get him to cook more when we head back to Metropolis."

"Well, after tonight all of the dinners are planned. We'll do turkey tomorrow afternoon for lunch and have leftovers for dinner. Friday we were going to grill burgers, Saturday we're having steak and Sunday is fajitas."

"That all sounds really, really good."

"Yeah, you're going to love the marinade the chef uses for the steaks."

A little while later they were sitting in the TV room, watching with the kids, when Martha and Clark walked in. Jordan bounced up out of the seat she was in.

"Grandma!"

Martha picked her up and pulled her into a hug. "How are you, Jordan?"

"Good. Wanna watch TV with us?"

"I would love to, sweetie." Lois watched Martha carry her over to where Jordan had been sitting and sat down with the girl in her lap. Clark came over and sat down next to her.

"Sam here yet?"

"Nope. I doubt daddy will take much..." The bell rang, and Lois shrugged. "Nevermind. That's probably him."

A minute later, the General walked into the room. Lois smiled when she saw him; he definitely looked like he had aged, but there was a light in his eyes that she couldn't remember being there since her mom had died. He actually looked happy. She got up and went over to him, giving him a hug.

"Hi, daddy."

"My little Lo. How are you feeling?"

"I'm ok. I've adjusted to the new year, and I already love Jordan and this new baby like you wouldn't believe. I'm sorry we haven't had the chance to talk before this."

"It's ok. Clark kept me appraised of the situation, so I know what's been going on."

"Good." She pulled out of his embrace and faced everybody else in the room. "All right folks, now that everybody is here, what do we want to do about dinner?"

Various responses were yelled by each of the children, leaving Lois with no more choices than she'd had a moment ago. "Ok young people, let's try this again. One at a time, in alphabetical order. What would you like, Aly?"

"Spaghetti."

"Ok, we have one vote Italian. Jack?"

"Veal."

Lois eyed him a second before turning to look at Bruce and Chloe. Chloe simply shrugged while Bruce smiled slightly. She'd wondered where Bruce was in the boy, and she seemed to have gotten the answer. She turned back to the kids. "Jordan?"

"Wontons!"

"One emphatic vote Chinese. Liz?"

"Macaroni and Cheese, please."

"And one vote for homemade." She looked to the adults. "So, we have Italian, Veal, Chinese and homemade to choose from."

Martha spoke first. "I'd be happy to make some macaroni and cheese with Liz. I have a son that used to like the stuff a lot."

"He still does. I'm on board for mac and cheese, mom."

Lois nodded at all that. "All right, that takes care of a couple people. Chloe?"

"I'm with Jordan on the Chinese. That sounds really good."

"Ok. Bruce?"

"I think I'll scrounge up something with Jack." He looked over at his son. "I don't know if we'll be able to have veal, but I think we can find something."

"I'll join them, if they don't mind," the General added. Bruce nodded.

"Well, this seems to have worked out well then, because the spaghetti option has my mouth watering." She looked over to Aly. "Mind if I join you in scarfing down some noodles and meatballs?" The girl smiled brightly at the prospect. It made Lois happy that her nieces and nephew liked her.

An hour later, they were all seated around the table eating their respective meals. Lois and Aly were sharing a big plate of spaghetti and meatballs, courtesy of Clark going and picking it up in Little Italy. Chloe and Jordan were downing Chinese food like it was going out of style, again courtesy of Clark. Jack, Bruce and the General were all eating steaks that were intended for the weekend, and all were claiming that they'd be fine to eat steak again when the weekend came. Finally, Liz, Clark and Martha were all eating mac and cheese, Clark and Liz also having some hot dogs they'd found in the fridge.

Lois looked around the table, unable to contain the smile that broke out. She wished Lucy could have been with them, but everybody else that she loved was at the table, and for lack of a better term, it warmed her heart. Who knew that she could be so happy having a family dinner? Hell, who knew that she'd even ever have a family dinner?

Soon afterwards, everybody was finished and all the dishes had been cleaned up. Once again, the children had headed to the TV room, this time to watch a movie. Clark had volunteered to chaperone, even though they'd left them on their own most of the day, so Lois decided to go with him while the rest of the adults stayed back to talk in the dining room.

All the younger folk had decided to sit up close to the television, so Lois took a seat in the back while Clark started up a kids movie that she hadn't ever heard of before. Clark flipped off the lights in the room before sitting down net to her. A few minutes passed in the movie before Clark started speaking to her.

"So, how're you handling everything?

"What is there to handle?"

"Well, I just told you about the first time we made love not two hours ago, and while I know you appear to be ok with it, you're able to hide things in that head of yours pretty well."

She looked over at him, able to make out his profile in the darkness of the room. "I'm okay with it, Smallville. Why wouldn't I be? Actually, how it happened is kind of how I imagined it had. I never for a second thought our first time together would be something you see in a movie where there are candles, romantic music and whatever else."

"Good. I'm glad."

"What I am curious about, though, is Lucy. You told me she lives in Paris with her family and plays violin in the orchestra. If that's true, how'd she get out of charges in the plot to attack the Justice League?"

"Good question."

---

_Clark woke up, pushing the snooze button on his alarm with his free hand. He opened his eyes, which took what felt like a lot more effort than some of his Superman duties, and looked down to find Lois with a leg draped over his and her head resting on his chest. He wasn't surprised; in the week and a half since what Chloe had taken to calling the Cinco de Mayo Incident, he'd yet to wake up without Lois on or next to him_.

_The first morning they'd woken up together, he was shocked that there hadn't been any awkwardness. Everything had felt normal, like it was the most natural thing in the world that they would be waking up in bed together. To him, it was the most natural thing in the world, but he hadn't expected for it to be the same way for her. Things that felt natural weren't always the same for them. _

_He'd been pleasantly surprised, and they hadn't spent a night apart since._

_Sighing, he knew that he needed to wake her up. She was going to want to take first shower again, if they actually took separate showers this time. That had become something they did together. Thinking about it, they'd started doing a lot of things together recently. He couldn't help the grin that stole across his face._

_After another minute of losing himself in thought, Clark starting running a hand over Lois's hair, moving to her shoulder and down her arm. She started to stir, attempting to bury her face in his chest._

"_Time to get up, babe."_

"_No." Her response was mumbled, at best._

"_Yeah, it is."_

_She looked up at him, only one eye open. "Not that. No to you calling me 'babe' or any other nickname of the sort."_

"_And here I thought I could be typical. Won't allow it, will you?"_

_She pushed herself up off of him, and kissed him softly. "Like you could ever be anything but atypical. I just don't want a crappy run-of-the-mill nickname."_

"_I'm just going to end up calling you Lo like Chloe and the General, aren't I?_

"_Can't argue with what works, Smallville." She yawned, then grinned before speaking again. "So, feel like joining me for a shower?"_

_Two hours later, Clark followed Lois out of the elevator into the bullpen. _

"_Lane! Kent!"_

_Clark saw Perry beckoning them over to his office, then heard Lois speak. "Ya know, being late today is all your fault."_

"_Oh, this should be good."_

"_See, while I was the one that invited you to take a shower with me, you're the one that had to go and make it all... sexual. I just wanted somebody to wash the spots I couldn't reach."_

"_Yeah, right."_

"_Are you calling me a liar?"_

"_I'm calling you a grade A horn dog. I know it's only been a week and a half, and I am in no way complaining about this, but the day you invite me into the shower to wash the spots you can't reach is the day I no longer help people in my own special way."_

_Before she had a chance to respond, he guided her into Perry's office, where they each sat down._

"_How's the investigation going?"_

_Lois spoke first. "Not great, chief. We're working on finding some leads. The personnel in the file that aren't working for Panther Corp. have disappeared off the face of the Earth, as far as we can tell, and I can't find Lucy anywhere to make contact with her. The General isn't having any luck either, but he's supposed to get back to me today on who might be connected to this in the government."_

"_All right. What about you, Kent?"_

"_I have a couple contacts that think they might be able to get some files for me soon. I'm hoping to get those in the next couple days. Other than that... we'd really have to travel to D.C. to get more done."_

"_Well, we'll hold off on that for now, but..."_

_Perry was interrupted by a ringing. Clark looked over at Lois, who mumbled a quick apology before pulling her phone out. Looking at it, her eyes went wide. "It's Lucy!" She flipped it open. _

"_Lucy! Where the hell have you been? What? No, I'm still investigating it, which is why... WHAT? Seriously? He did and didn't tell me? No, I'm going to ask him about it. All right, I can keep your name out of it. Yeah. Ok, I'll talk to you soon."_

_Lois closed her phone and sat back in the chair. Clark glanced at Perry before speaking to Lois._

"_What did she have to say?"_

_Lois chewed on her lip for a second before looking at him. "My sister's a government agent."_

---

"WHAT?"

All the children looked back at her, surprised that she'd yelled during the movie. She ran a hand through her hair. "Sorry, guys."

When they'd all looked back to the screen, Lois motioned to Clark to head out to the hallway. Once there, she felt like she could speak at a normal volume again. She locked eyes with Clark.

"Lucy was a government agent?"

"Yeah. Believe it or not, she got recruited by the NSA. The Paul she was with back then was a mark that she used to infiltrate the people planning the attack. With her help, the Justice League and the government worked together to stop it before it could happen and a majority of those involved are currently incarcerated for a long period of time."

"But not Lex."

"No."

"So, the Paul she's married to now..."

"Just a coincidence. She actually met and married him within a year of that phone call."

Lois shook her head, not able to believe what she was hearing. "So, how many more assignments did she have?"

"She's never said. All she told us was that once she found out she was pregnant with Tommy, she left the agency and took up violin full time again. Thus, she plays for the Paris Orchestra."

"Ya know, as ridiculous as it is, that sounds like Lucy. A spy one day, a violinist the next."


	32. Chapter 32

---- Chapter 32

"To family, friends and happiness. May we have many more years with all of them. Happy Thanksgiving."

Lois smiled and took a drink from her raised glass as Bruce sat down. The turkey smelled amazing, courtesy of one Martha Kent. After taking a bite, she concluded that wherever Martha went, she would never make a bad meal. Lois could train for ten years and not make turkey as good as what she was eating.

She looked around the table, observing her family as they all ate, smiled and laughed with one another. Chloe and Bruce, surrounded by their children. The General, Martha, Jordan and Clark. How had she gotten so lucky as to have so many good people in her life?

"Mommy?"

Lois came out of her thoughts and looked down at the little girl sitting next to her. "Need something, kiddo?"

"Smashed potatoes, please."

Grabbing the bowl and poorly suppressing a smile at the term used by her daughter, Lois scooped out a little on to Jordan's plate. After placing a middling size scoop on her plate, she moved to put the bowl back on the table.

"More, please."

With a quick glance at her daughter, she shrugged and piled a little more on there. Looking at the plate, though, she found probable cause for why more were wanted. "You _are_ going to have to finish your green beans, baby girl. Filling up on mashed potatoes isn't going to prevent that." Wait, would a three year old even think like that?

Lois watched Jordan frown and start poking at the beans with her fork, and figured that at least one would. Clever little devil. She took pity on her, though, and despite knowing it would set a bad precedence, grabbed a few of the beans off Jordan's plate and popped them in her mouth. She winked at Jordan before focusing on her own plate again, devouring a bite of turkey and gravy.

Time flew as lunch went by, Lois filling up on at least two helpings of everything, three on some and four of turkey. She, Clark and Chloe were the last ones eating, each of them finishing off some pie as everybody else sat and talked. The kids had taken off to do whatever they did a little while ago, having filled up a little quicker than most of their adult counterparts.

Lois sat back in her chair, slouching a little as she swallowed the last bite of her pie. As soon as she had done so, she yawned and really felt like taking a nap. She almost laughed at the thought that she and Jordan were even more alike, though at least she could attribute her post meal fatigue on the turkey. She was surprised that she hadn't needed to put Jordan down for a nap yet; they'd been eating for a good long while.

She listened to everybody talk for a little while, content to let the conversation focus on something other than her for a while. It seemed that whenever she entered a conversation these days, it invariably turned into something about her and the past. It was getting a bit tiresome, despite all the good intentions. She wanted to know about her past, but she was ready for the focus to move a little bit.

It became obvious to her that she had eaten far too much turkey when she yawned again and felt her eyes droop a bit. She sat up and cracked her neck before noticing that people were looking at her.

"What?"

Clark was the one that spoke. "That was a major league yawn, Lo. Why don't you grab a nap?"

"No, I'm fine. Tryptophan isn't going to..." She'd have continued her sentence but it was interrupted by another yawn. She rolled her eyes at herself.

"Tryptophan isn't your sole sleep inducer. Almond Joy is probably adding to that a bit."

"Fine, fine. I'll go take a nap to ease your mind, Smallville."

After telling everybody she'd see them later, Lois headed upstairs and into the room she shared with Clark. Bigger than their room at the apartment, it contained a sizable chest of drawers and a four post canopied bed that Lois thought was overkill. The thing was damn comfortable, though.

Instead of heading straight to the bed, Lois went to her suitcase and dug around a moment, finally finding what she was looking for after a few muttered curses and another yawn. She sat on the bed and pulled the covers up over herself before flipping through the diary to find the next entry she hadn't read.

12/1/17

Clark and I are in Gotham as I write this. Chloe's twins were born about an hour ago and (forgive my girly moment) are just about the cutest little things I've ever seen in my life. Alyson Marie Wayne was born first, 20 inches long and weighing in at 7lbs even. Twenty minutes later, Elizabeth Gillian Wayne was born an inch shorter but weighed 2 ounces more than her sister.

I'm told that they're larger than usual for twins, which makes me laugh since Chloe's only as big as she is. Both are healthy, though seem a bit perturbed by the nine hours of labor they had to go through. Neither has hair right now, but just in case you're wondering, they're fraternal. I can't tell if they look more like one parent or the other at this point, and I don't know if that will change with time.

Chloe's doing great and is as happy as I've ever seen her. We actually talked a couple hours before she went into labor and she said that she thought it could happen at any time. She was really happy that she made it to 38 weeks after reading so many stories of women with twins that only went 34 or 35 weeks. She knew the girls would have been fine had they been born then, but she wanted them to get as much time in utero as they could so she could take them home ASAP and not have to leave them in the hospital for a day or two after she'd been discharged.

Clark and I took today, Monday and Tuesday off of work so we could help out the new parents for a few days. I assume that most of the time we'll be watching Jack and keeping him company while his parents focus on the twins. He seems genuinely excited about the fact that he has sisters, though I'm sure he can't comprehend what having them will actually entail. We know what it's like to be excited about having a sister, and just how awry that can go. I'm sure he'll handle it like the little champ that he is, though.

Not surprisingly, the twins being born and helping take care of Jack has me thinking about kids and what exactly they entail. I'm sure until you actually raise one, it's a lot like being pregnant and you have no idea what it will be like. But having a life that is dependent on you entirely... the scare that puts into me is probably a little dulled by having Clark by my side, but still pretty intense.

What I do know, though, is that if we ever do have kids (I wonder if Kryptonian and Human genes are even compatible), Clark is going to be an amazing father. I watch the way he is with Jack whenever we're at the Wayne Manor or they come to Metropolis, and it just looks like he's in his natural state. He had that same natural look when he held Aly and Liz for the first time. He's loving, giving and just an overall softy with kids. It's adorable.

Last entry I was talking about how Lucy and Paul were going to start trying for baby number two (Baby fever appears to be in France, too, if Chloe didn't infect her while at the wedding). She actually called three days ago to tell me that she was pregnant. Lucy is still the kind of person that sets her mind to doing something and gets it done, no matter what the task may be. She's due in late July or early August, and I'm thinking that Clark and I may fly over to Paris to do a little helping there too, like we are here.

Of course, one doesn't know what will happen between now and then. It's entirely likely that I'll have been in at least five (ok, fifteen) life or death situations by summer, not to mention the life or death situations Clark puts himself in. Lex will undoubtedly try something to knock Superman off, or at least knock him off the pedestal he thinks people have wrongly put him on.

Speaking of Lex, he's been particularly nauseating lately. He's been publicly playing with the idea to run for office, which is something that could come to no good end, as you know. I can say with some certainty that his opponent would have a moral edge, even if he had spent a lifetime as car thief. The problem, of course, would be monetary. Lex would have his vast fortune and resources to use, and while that didn't help him back when he was running against Mr. Kent, he's probably refined his skills at using them since then. Plus, nobody in the world, outside of Martha, was ever as elect worthy as Jonathan Kent.

On a lighter note, Thanksgiving was ridiculous. Everybody went to the Wayne Manor, in what seems to be tradition now, but we ran into a slight problem: there wasn't any turkey to cook! How'd it happen? Nobody knows. Clark and I ended up flying to a barbeque joint in Atlanta that had some sliced, smoked turkey that we could buy. It was delicious, but it felt a little strange not to have a drumstick in front of me.

Huh. I just ended up taking a little break from writing because I was handed a small bundle of person to hold in the form of one Aly Wayne. Cute little thing, and very wiggly for being four hours old, or so I assume since my experience with babies is non-existent, as far as my memory recalls. She's got her mother's nose, but that was all I could tell for sure. Clark was holding little Liz, expertly of course.

Being married has been great. It really hasn't seemed to change things that much, aside from the fact that I have Kent added to my last name now (I was going to be Lois Kent, but Clark knew how much I love the name Lane was entirely supportive of me hyphenating so I went ahead and did it that way).

The honeymoon was a blast, though Europe is still rainy in the fall. Thinking about it, Spain is an odd place to go at that time of year. We tended to stay at the villa more often than flying to other places because of the weather. Well, to be honest it was because we didn't want to get out of bed, but we tell others it was because of the weather.

I think that's pretty much everything that went on since my last entry. The next time I update will be in the year 2018, which I still find hard to believe. How time flies when you forget every few years.

Lois closed the diary, yawning again. There hadn't really been any advice in that chapter, but she didn't consider it a big deal. Any revelations wouldn't have sunk in anyway. She got off the bed and buried the diary in her suitcase again, then got back into bed, covering herself up, and promptly fell asleep.

"Lo?"

Lois opened her eyes and blinked a couple times, not sure whose voice had woken her. She sat up so she wouldn't close her eyes and go back to sleep, finding Clark seated on the side of the bed.

"Yeah, Smallville?"

"I figured you'd want me to wake you up for dinner."

"Dinner? Jesus, how long did I sleep?"

"About four hours, but everybody else kind of conked out too. I went to check on Jordan not long after you came up and she'd fallen asleep in a pile of stuffed animals, so I put her in her bed. Chloe, Aly and Liz all slept together for a couple hours in Chloe and Bruce's room. Bruce and Jack went outside and did something together, and the General took a quick nap in the den."

Rubbing a hand over her face, Lois scooted over and swung her legs over the side of the bed, leaning her head on Clark tiredly. "What about you and your mom?"

"Mom cleaned and started on a couple more pies for dinner, since we demolished most of them earlier. I don't remember a Thanksgiving where she took a nap. I believe the woman is impervious to tryptophan. I made a couple saves in Metropolis, one of which was a house fire. That one happens every year when somebody tries to deep fry the turkey."

"Huh. Well, you said dinner, and I haven't eaten in about four hours, so I'm unsurprisingly kind of hungry. I think I'm actually getting used to this constant hunger thing, but I'm surprised other people are. Well, not Chloe, since she too is eating for two, and I've noticed you're always hungry, which is probably a Kryptonian thing, but I figured everybody else would still be stuffed."

"People will eat as they get hungry."

"And you figured I'd be hungry."

"That, and I figured if I let you sleep longer you'd be up until three or four in the morning."

"Well, I kind of doubt that, as tired as I feel today, but it's entirely possible. Pregnant or not, my hours haven't always been conventional."

Lois watched Clark stand up and took his hand when he offered it to help her up. They walked down to the kitchen together, finding Martha talking to Chloe. Martha was first to notice them and smiled.

"How'd you sleep, dear?"

Lois returned the smile. "I slept well enough that I'm still trying to wake up, but I think some food will help with that. Well, food that isn't turkey will wake me up, but I'm going to have a turkey sandwich or two anyway."

"You're just asking to be tired today, aren't you cuz?"

"It seems like it. Really, I blame this on you, Martha. If you didn't make such good turkey I wouldn't have this dilemma of not feeling like I've had enough of it. I fear that until all the turkey is gone, I will be very tired a majority of the time."

Martha just answered her with a smile as Lois winked at her with the end of the statement. She was soon in possession of a turkey sandwich and a couple slices of pie, which she downed with pleasure. She had always loved Thanksgiving food, and this year was no exception, and she was eating more of it in one day than the last two she could remember.

They all moved out to the TV room, where everybody else had congregated. The kids were all doing various things, with a classical music station playing through th television. Bruce and the General were both seated, speaking quietly on one side of the room. They all headed towards them, Lois in the lead as she carried her food.

She sat down next to her father, setting the plate down on her lap and grabbing the sandwich. She took a big bite and nearly moaned, it was so good. Only Martha Kent could figure out how to make leftovers better than what they'd tasted like hours ago. Lois watched as Chloe, sporting a sandwich of her own but no pie, also started digging in.

"You men are welcome to the sandwiches I made, too," Martha said to Bruce and Sam. "There are plenty since we had _twenty pounds_ of turkey."

"Better too much than too little," Bruce said. "Besides, we've got two pregnant women and Clark, so we should go through the turkey faster than a small army."

"I think you underestimate army men, Bruce," the General added with a grin.

Clark leaned forward and glanced at Lois, grinning at her, and spoke. "I think you underestimate just how much Lois liked to eat before she was pregnant, let alone..." He stopped when he caught Lois glaring at him. "What?"

"Why not just come straight out and call me a pig, Clark?"

"Because that would be a lie. What isn't a lie is that you like to eat, right?"

"Everybody likes food, Smallville."

"And _you_ like it a little bit more than most people. Come on, Lo, we're with family. Everybody here has seen you take on a large pizza and win with ease. Yes, I'm saying you eat a lot, but so what? Are you going to deny it?"

She glared at him even harder, but he just stood there, smirking. She just rolled her eyes and took a bite of her sandwich, swallowing before she replied. "Fine. I like to eat. No crime in that, right?"

"If there were, there might be a lot more skinny people in some parts of the world these days. Or at least more large people in jail."

"Then I think everybody is right. It is better to have too much food, Bruce underestimates army men, and daddy underestimates just how hungry I am these days." She shook her head. "If I were to eat as much as I feel like I could, I would gain seventy pounds while pregnant. I'm starting to think that I'm more ravenous than I should be, really."

"Don't worry, it tapers off. You were the same way with Jordan. Remember how I told you that you went from not showing to very obviously showing within a couple weeks?"

"Of course."

"Well, your appetite then was just as big as it is now. It tapered off after a week or two more and wasn't quite so strong the rest of the time, though it was plenty healthy."

"Well, at least there's that. As much as I love eating, even I can get sick of it."

Having finished her sandwich, she started in on one of her slices of pie.

"Lois?"

"Yeah?"

"You're eating pie like pizza again."

"I know."

"Just making sure."


	33. Chapter 33

---- Chapter 33

Lois sat with her arms crossed, glaring at the television. It hadn't done anything wrong, but Chloe had suggested she glare at something inanimate. She'd agreed grudgingly, though preferring to glare at Clark. She may not remember it, but it was his fault, damn it. It had to be his fault, because it certainly couldn't be hers.

"This sucks."

"We know, Lo."

She looked at the offender out of the corner of her eye, watching as he smiled at the television in an all too sweet and understanding manor. "I'm still blaming you, as typical and ridiculous as it may be."

"I understand. You did the same last time."

"You could at least act annoyed that I'm being irrational."

Clark gasped mockingly, but still didn't look at her. "Lois Lane Kent, irrational? I never thought I'd see the day."

Lois fixed her best glare on him, and he just turned and smiled in that confident, annoying, sexy way. No! Not sexy, just confident and arousing. No, damn it! Confident and annoying... and nothing else. Not a thing. Certainly not sexy, arousing or anything that would make her want to ravage him in front of everybody in the room.

Because that would be wrong.

She looked away from him and back at the television. Texas was beating the hell out of A&M this year in their annual Friday after Thanksgiving game. She didn't really care one way or another, but it wasn't surprising. From what she'd read, the 'Horns were looking to get a number one seed in the playoffs.

She looked back at Clark, who was still wearing that damned smile. They were sitting with the kids, most of which were ignoring the football game. Jack seemed thoroughly ensconced, but Lois thought that might just be him trying to imitate his Uncle Clark. The boy wanted to be just like him, it seemed, and watching football was a good way to do that.

He couldn't really pick a better man to try and model himself after. Hell, he was pretty much the best man in the world, when it came right down to it. Standing for good the way he did. She had no problems with the way Bruce handled criminals in Gotham, but compared to the way Clark handled criminals... Superman almost did things in a naïve way. And for her, for some ridiculous reason, it was a complete turn on, just like every other damn thing Clark did.

Stupid hormones. They were to blame for all this. They kept making her thoughts stray towards Clark and just how much she wanted to be with him. Since she couldn't remember being with him, it just fueled the fire more now that they had very obviously been together. She looked down at her stomach. Very, very obviously. It seemed like her stomach had protruded a few more inches overnight.

She was still looking at him and he still just sat there, not thinking about her plight, the jackass. "I'm sitting around in _your_ pajama pants, Smallville, because none of the pants that I have here would fit!"

"And here I thought you were trying to bring plaid back into style. I asked if you wanted to pack some of your maternity pants, just in case, and you just scoffed at me and said something about it being unlikely you'd need them. You even went so far as to take them out of my bag when I packed them, just in case."

"I want my real pants to fit."

"So I've heard."

They sat in silence for a while. Lois was looking at the television, but she wasn't paying much attention to the pigskin.

He was right. Again.

He knew what could happen and she didn't. Again.

He looked all sexy like. Again.

God, this was torture!

Well, that was a lie. She got to look at, sleep with and find comfort in a man that put the Greek pantheon to shame. The man took care of the world and had the heart to take care of her too. He loved her, unconditionally. Lois sighed to herself. She didn't deserve what she had, and she knew it. It was plain as day in her mind. Everything she had was too good for her.

But she wanted it. She couldn't believe how much she loved it now that she was right in the middle of the mayhem. She loved Chloe and her family. She always knew that she would, when it happened, because she'd always figured herself for a loveless marriage. She'd dreamed of Chloe's family as an escape.

And then Jordan... she thought about it so much, but it never failed to grip her at just how much she loved her baby girl. It invaded her thoughts when she woke up, and it was on her mind when she went to bed at night. Jordan this, Jordan that... she knew that her heart had been invaded so quickly because it was her daughter, but still...

And then Clark. She looked at him again, studying his profile a second before reaching over and placing a hand on his. He turned to her.

"What's up?"

"Can we go talk a minute?"

"Yeah, sure." Clark smiled and stood as she did. She watched as he took a look at all the kids, making sure they were all set for a few minutes before guiding her out into the hallway.

"So, what needs to be said?"

Lois took a dep breath, steadying herself. "Clark, you're too good for me. And before you interrupt, I don't mean that in an entirely self-deprecating way. You're probably too good for a lot of women in the world, and those that are good enough would probably let you go so that you could stay focused on being a symbol of peace.

"But I'm not that type of woman. I'm selfish. I can't believe that you're in my life, like this, but I don't care anymore. I want you the way you want me. I want to embrace a life with you the way I have with Jordan and Almond Joy. I want you to know that I feel more strongly about you in thirteen days than I have about any other man in my life that I remember.

"I love you, Clark. It's stupid, it's irrational and it doesn't make any sense in or out of my head, but I do. I am so ridiculously in love with you because I can't think about anything else. When I think about Jordan, it comes back to you. When I think about Almond Joy, it comes back to you. When I think about just about anything lately, it comes back to you. About how you're caring, about how you're the most compassionate man I've ever met or could hope to meet.

"So that's it. I love you, Smallville." She took a few deep breaths once she finished, realizing suffocation was not the way one wanted to follow a declaration of love. Would be going out with a bang, but for now she'd prefer to just stick around.

"You sure you got everything out?"

"Yeah, seems like it."

"Good, I'm glad." He bent down and kissed her, and her knees just about gave out. She wrapped her arms around his neck more out of necessity than being in the moment, but that fact barely entered her mind as she kissed him back as best she knew how. He pulled away slowly, smiling at her.

"I love you, Lois. I've never meant anything more in my entire life. If the sun never rose again, I'd never be without light because I would have you with me." He paused a second, then rolled his eyes. "Ok, that's pretty cheesy, even for me, but I think you get the drift."

This time she pulled him down and initiated the kiss, and it went on a good deal longer than the first one had. She had to fight the urge to growl as he pulled away from her again.

"The young people in the other room are going to think we abandoned them."

"Five bucks says they haven't even noticed."

When they peeked into the room, all were still involved in the activities they'd been left to. She grinned and pulled back out of the room as he shut the door again.

"Pay up, Smallville."

He made a show of feeling at all his pockets, smiling slyly as he did so. "I don't seem to have any cash on me. Is there a way I could, say, work the debt off?"

She gave him her best lascivious smile. "Damn right you... hey, Martha!"

Lois plastered a smile that held much less lasciviousness as she greeted her.

"What are you two up to?"

Lois shrugged, doing her best to look innocent as less than innocent thoughts ran through her head about the woman's son.

"Ya know, not much. We came out her to talk for a minute away from the smaller eared crowd."

Lois's eyes went everywhere in the hallway that wasn't Martha. When they settled on Clark, she had a hell of a time tearing them away and only did so when Martha spoke again.

"Well, if you two could use some time to yourselves, I'd be happy to keep an eye on the children. I always enjoy getting time in with Chloe's kids, since they don't have any true grandparents of their own. I try to make them feel loved, and they feel as much a part of my family as Jordan does."

"You do a great job making them feel a part of the family, mom, because they are. You're Grandmother Martha to the Wayne family."

Martha smiled. "I know. I just hope the kids know how much I love them. Have a nice time."

Lois nodded and smiled at her as she walked into the room. Without looking at Clark, she spoke. "So, what do we want to do that kills a couple hours?"

_A Couple Hours Later..._

"Wow." Lois had lost the better part of her vocabulary after the third orgasm. The journal had been right: three to one. That was definitely a ratio she was going to enjoy as much as she could. But it hadn't all been what she'd thought it would be. It had been slow, passionate and as intense an experience as she could remember.

She rolled over and laid her head on Clark's shoulder. "I think I finally understand the term 'make love' now, because I never really got it before. Until this, it's always just been 'having sex' or... well, that's it."

"Really?" He ran a hand over her back slowly, sending chills up her spine. "Funny, you've never said that before after our first time together."

"I try not to be predictable."

She listened to him chuckle. "I would never presume to label you predictable, Lo. It's just hard for me not to compare each memory loss against the others.. The last two times when we were together you gave me some version of a speech about mind blowing sex and being really glad we did that."

"That does sound a lot more like me than what I said. But it's true. Before the attack and I started losing my memory, I'd had sex. It had been good, most of the time, but this... mind blowing sex is a good description of it, but I don't think it does it justice. The way I feel about you made it something more."

Lois paused for a moment, thinking about what she'd just said. She shook her head and rubbed a hand over her face. "I sound like a romantic goofball. I had no idea that cheesy romanticism could be contagious, and you should have warned me."

"Now why would I want to do something like that? Call me crazy..."

"Don't tempt me."

"...but I like to hear you be the cheesy romantic every now and again. I love that I can bring out those feelings in you, ones you never thought you could or would have."

Lois thought about it a moment. "Now and again is all you're going to get because I... woah."

Lois sat up, placing a hand against her stomach. Clark sat up a second later. "What's wrong?"

"No, nothing. I think AJ just kicked, though. I hadn't ever felt it until now."

Lois wasn't even sure what she'd felt. It had just been like a couple flutters on the right side of her stomach. It could be anything really... but then it happened again. Without thinking about it, she broke into a grin and grabbed Clark's hand, placing it where she'd felt the kicks. They waited a second, and it happened once more.

And she'd thought the love making would be the highlight of her day.

"I can't believe this."

Clark placed a soft kiss on her shoulder. "Believe it, Lo. That's Almond Joy, letting you know the he or she is there." He suddenly got a faraway look on his face, and she knew what that meant.

"Go. Keep people safe."

He smiled at her and disappeared with a gust of wind. She smiled after him, and it only grew as she felt AJ flutter again. It was one of the most amazing things she'd ever felt. She looked down at her stomach and took a deep breath. She hadn't had the courage to do this until now.

"I know I should have done this sooner, but I think this is finally real to me now. You're kicking, and I'm really starting to show... it's just that, before this, I loved you, but you were still an idea. Now, you're very real to me. I can _feel_ you in there now, and it just makes me... happy. It's not a regular kind of happy, though. I don't know how to describe it, but I know that you can feel it too, because you're the one bringing these feelings about.

"I'm your mother, AJ. If you're wondering how you got that nickname, I'll have your dad tell you how he came up with it when he gets back. He's a great man and an even greater father, and you may be one of the luckiest children in the world because you have him. It's not just that you just have him, but you are a part of him. That makes you special.

"It seems silly, and I have no real proof, but I'm almost positive that you're a boy. When your father and I were flying last weekend, I had this... this vision of me running around with a little boy. I think it was too vivid to be a daydream, so I believe that somehow I was seeing you... my little boy.

"Please, please know that above everything else, first and foremost, I love you. You're as much me as you are your father, but I get this special privilege of carrying you and making sure you come into the world with ten fingers and toes. I promise you, despite my mind being the way it is, I am doing my best to make sure you're healthy and happy. You and your big sister are my top priority, no matter what. If I... when I forget you, know that it's happening because of a bad man. If I had any choice, I would remember every minute of the time I have with you and your sister."

Lois wiped away tears from her cheek, unable to hold them back any longer. She didn't even know why she was crying, but she didn't really care; she kept speaking, despite them.

"You're going to do great things, AJ. I don't think your genes would allow you not to, be they the kryptonian or human ones. As much power as you may have from your father, we Lane's are no tame bunch. We do everything with our whole heart. Anything less isn't acceptable. You can see that in the General, your grandfather, Lucy, your aunt, and even me.

"And then you have the Kent's. I'm so sorry that you'll never get to know your grandfather Jonathan. He was one of the greatest men a person could ever hope to meet, always expecting the best of people, no matter what. He saw the world for what it could be, and passed that belief on to your father.

"And your grandmother, Martha, is a force to be reckoned with. Trust me when I say, you will never meet a more wise person in your life. And she'll love you, unequivocally. Her love is special, though: it makes you feel like you're a better person for having it. She has so much room in her heart that when you feel lost, she'll take you in and keep you safe with her love until you can face the world again.

"That's the kind of mother I want to be for you, AJ. I want you to feel, to _know_ that I will always be here for you, no matter what. I promise that I'll always do my best to keep you safe from harm, even if you're invulnerable like your father. It's my right, as your mother. And, at times, I will worry about you too much. Know that it will be because I want you to be as happy as I am. If I could spend my life finding you the happiness I have now, it would be a more successful life than I could have ever imagined."

Lois spent the next twenty minutes talking to AJ, telling him everything she could think of and reaffirming that she loved him as much as she could. She must have said it forty times in ten different ways by the time she finished speaking, and she just wanted to say it more.

After her talk, she got out of bed and took a shower. She dressed in Clark's pajama pants again, not really caring anymore, along with one of her shirts. She was about to walk out of the room and join everybody else downstairs when Clark opened the door and walked into their room. When he spotted her, he smiled.

"Headed somewhere?"

"I didn't know when you were going to be back, so I was going to join everybody downstairs."

"Well, that's one plan. I was thinking we should be a little more anti-social, though." He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug. "Know what I mean?"

"Oh, do I." She pushed up on her toes and kissed him, hoping she could pass just how happy she was through the gesture. She pulled away, grinning. "And in case you forgot, I really love you, Smallville."


	34. Chapter 34

---- Chapter 34

Lois yawned as she sat with Clark, Chloe, Bruce and Jack. It was Sunday afternoon, Martha and the General having already headed home. All the younger children were currently napping, and Lois wouldn't have been opposed to joining them. She thought Jack looked like he had heavy eyelids too, but he claimed he didn't need a nap so she figured she didn't either, despite what her body told her.

She leaned over, laying her body over the couch she and Clark had to themselves and put her head in his lap. He started playing with her hair as he smiled down at her.

"Tired?"

"If Jack's awake, so am I. Plus, I think it's time for another story from our past."

"Do you now? What has your interest?"

"Our relationship and the second time I forgot."

"I think I can manage that. Chloe, you think I can manage that?"

She smiled at him playing around with this. Lois just found him too adorable for words sometimes.

"Clark, I think nobody in the world could manage it better than you could."

"Thanks for the faux praise. Ok then, to the story we go."

- - -

"_Well it's about damn time!"_

_Clark cocked an eyebrow at Chloe. "I take it you think I should have done this sooner."_

"_I thought you'd have done it a year ago. It's been over a year and a half since you two got together in your entirely original way. You two are the only adults I know that could move as smoothly as you did from friends to lovers. Your lives barely changed."_

"_The only thing that really changed was where we slept. We were spending all out time together anyway, and knew almost all of each others secrets."_

"_Yeah, the almost part of that coming out is why I can't believe you were able to transition the way you did. Seriously, you and Lois are the only two in the world that could have that big of a confession, make up and sleep together for the first time all in the same day. Well, not the only two, but I think you're in select company."_

_Clark slouched down into the couch a little more, smiling at Chloe. "The day we do something normally will be a strange day indeed. And yeah, I could have proposed sooner, but... well, I just never thought Lois would be one to get into a quick engagement."_

_He watched Chloe open her mouth to say something, but it was promptly closed. Her brow knitted together a second before she spoke. "Alright, I'll concede that point. Though, if she were going to do it, it would have been with you. Do you have a ring yet?"_

_Clark dug around in his pocket a second before pulling out the ring he wanted Lois to have. He handed it to Chloe, who seemed to be entranced by it. _

"_Holy... isn't this Martha's?"_

"_It is, and it was my grandmother's before that. I was going to ask her if I could use it, but when I told her that I was going to propose she immediately handed me her ring. She either knew the question was coming or wasn't leaving me a choice, but either way I have a ring for Lois."_

"_And I thought it just looked beautiful. The fact that Martha gave it to you before you even had a chance to ask... well, it tells you how she feels about the two of you as much as anything." She handed the ring back to him, and he stared at it a moment before pocketing it again._

"_So, uh, think she'll say yes?"_

_Chloe stared at him a moment, her mouth hanging open. Clark looked away after a few seconds, getting uncomfortable under her gaze._

"_Tell me that was a bad attempt at humor."_

"_That was a bad attempt at humor."_

"_Damn well better be. You cannot ask that and mean it, not after this last year and a half."_

_Clark shrugged. "What can I say? Lois has always made me a little nervous. Hell, you know that better than anybody, even Lois."_

_Chloe eyed him with squinted eyes fro a second before sitting back in her chair. The two sat in silence for a moment. "When are you planning on asking her?"_

"_Soon. Tomorrow, maybe. It'll be Sunday, and we could take Monday off from work. We're due some time off anyway; Perry's been working us both to the bone lately because of all the criminal activity that Superman has had to stop."_

"_Any ideas on what's going on?"_

"_Maybe the shine has come off the ideals I try to show as Superman, and people are getting bolder. It could be that something or someone is pushing the crime wave forward, urging it on. It's something that would be just up Lex's alley, thinking about it, but he isn't the source of all evil in Metropolis." He paused a second. "Just most of it."_

_Chloe looked like she wanted to add something, but Bruce walked in holding Jack. She got out of her chair, smiling at them both. Clark stood up too, observing their family dynamic. Jack reached for Chloe and she pulled him into her arms. She looked to Bruce._

"_I'm surprised he woke up from his nap already."_

"_I am too, but when I went in to check on him he was up and alert. He wanted to see you, and here we are."_

"_And here you are." She looked to Jack. "How are you doing, little guy?"_

"_Milk."_

"_Interesting answer. Makes me kind of curious as to what I would get if I were to ask if you what you wanted. So, milk you say?"_

_Jack nodded and Chloe propped him on her hip. "Ok then. Milk it is."_

_Clark and Bruce followed her to the kitchen, watching as she pulled a sippy cup out and handed it to her son. He pulled it up to his mouth and started drinking eagerly, all of the adults watching him a moment before focusing on each other again._

"_Clark's planning to propose."_

"_About time."_

_Clark rolled his eyes. "I'm getting grief from you? You two were together nearly three years before you proposed to Chloe_."

"_True. The difference is that Chloe and I were starting from scratch. You and Lois were, for all intents and purposes, a couple before you were actually a couple._ _You did everything couples do except the intimate touches."_

"_I don't know..."_

"_Tell me, how much did things change when you two got together?"_

"_Not much, really. Just sleeping arrangements, for the most part."_

"_Then I stand by my statement. You two were a couple before either of you even realized it."_

_Clark frowned, thinking about everything that had gone on. It was true that they'd made such a seamless transition that neither of them had even really noted the difference. Lois had commented a few months in on how they spent most of their nights at her apartment, but it wasn't a surprise, just something she said. Four months after her comment, neither owned an individual apartment any longer as they'd moved into a new apartment together._

_It was spacious, at the top of a building so that he could take off as need be without having to worry too much about being seen. Good sized master bedroom with a second bedroom that they were going to use as a study or junk room, whichever was more useful. For some reason she'd taken to decorating the place in some very familiar primary colors, which surprised the hell out of him. He figured she'd have wanted some variance with the colors in her life._

_Living together had been just as natural as becoming a couple. She loved that he was able to clean everything so quickly, and rarely bothered to do much of it herself. It didn't really bother him, since the few times he'd seen her try her hand at housework she'd become more annoyed than when he used to disappear to help people with only a flimsy excuse. He found it cute, but then he found just about anything she did cute._

"_How are you going to propose?"_

_Clark snapped out of his thoughts and looked to Chloe, who was still holding jack._

"_I don't really have a plan. I don't even feel like I need a plan. If I make some big romantic gesture I'm just as likely to get laughed at for being too over the top as I am praise. I'll just do it when it feels natural. Seems to be the way we've done everything else along the way."_

"_But it's definitely happening tomorrow?" Chloe sounded more excited about the proposal than he felt._

"_Yes, it will definitely happen tomorrow."_

"_Lois?"_

_Clark looked around the apartment, not yet resorting to x-ray vision but unable to find her. He went into their bedroom, looking around for a second. A piece of paper on the bed caught his eye. He walked over and picked it up, unfolding it._

_**Smallville:**_

_**Went to grab a few things at the store. Wanted to get some ingredients so I could attempt a nice dinner tonight, with your help. Shouldn't be gone long.**_

_**Love, Lois**_

_Clark smiled. After a nice dinner together tonight, a proposal tomorrow would be a pretty good follow up. Should be a good surprise._

_Since he hadn't had a chance to shower that morning, he hopped in and scrubbed off the grime of a couple early saves. It was late afternoon, now, and he was a little surprised that nobody had needed to be saved since he morning, but sometimes there were days like that. He wasn't going to complain if there was peace in the city._

_He got out of the shower and dried himself off at normal speed, putting on jeans and a t-shirt again. Once they were done with the actual making of dinner, which always got their clothes messy, he'd switch into some nicer clothes. He grabbed the ring and slipped it in his pocket. He'd always been awful at hiding things, and her hands were rarely in his pockets. _

_He walked out into the living room, running a hand through his drying hair. He kind of missed the longer hair he used to have, but it was so much less hassle now that he didn't ever grow it back._

_He got a glass of water, sipping at it as he tried to figure out what Lois would want to make tonight. He pulled out some pans that they used for almost everything, figuring she'd want to get started when she got back. Whenever they did something like this, they generally made something Italian._

_As if on cue, he heard the door opening and a muttered curse. He smiled and walked over to the door, watching her back in. He loved watching her walk, be it from the front or back._

"_Need some help, Lo?"_

"_Nope. Got it all, and..." Lois kicked the door shut. "Now I'm in." She walked over to the kitchen table and sat the bags of groceries down on it, smiling at him. She flexed her fingers a couple times, apparently having strained them as she carried the plastic bags. _

"_So, what are we making tonight?"_

"_We are making classic American fare: cheeseburgers."_

_Well, that wasn't the answer he was expecting. It certainly wasn't Italian. "I have to ask, since you said a nice dinner in your note on the bed, how did you come to the conclusion of cheeseburgers for dinner?"_

"_It was a complicated thought process. I started out wanting to make something ornate, like veal. Then I remembered that it's me. So then I fell back on to the usual stuff, such as lasagna, manicotti and other such noodle type foods. But, really, whenever we do something nice it's the kind of thing. I thought we needed to spice things up a bit."_

"_And that spice is cheeseburgers?"_

"_Well, no, because when I thought about spicing things up, I got delusions of cooking grandeur. I started piling in things for jambalaya, like cayenne, bell peppers and all sorts of meat."_

_Clark held up a hand, stopping her there. "You know how to make jambalaya?"_

"_Yes, I know how, but I can't actually accomplish it. Me being me, the chicken doesn't get cooked well enough and I end up giving people salmonella."_

"_That sounds... pleasant."_

"_Right, so when I really thought about it, I didn't feeling like having food poisoning. I mean, yeah, you could have cooked the chicken, but really, the whole thing is a lot of work. As much as I had a hankering for nice food, I didn't want to work for it tonight. So, I thought about good food that we could substitute in for the usual stuff, and ended up on cheeseburgers. They're easy, we can eat them by candlelight which is technically true for any food,, and you know just the right stuff to put into them."_

"_So, I'm cooking cheeseburgers tonight."_

"_Yes."_

"_Because you wanted a nice dinner and settled for something easy that I like to make."_

"_Yes."_

_He shrugged. "Well, I guess that's fair since you did the shopping."_

_Forty five minutes later, Clark had half done burgers on the grill on their patio. He looked out at the city for a second before looking at Lois. She was leaning back against a rail, watching him as he grilled. He smiled at her as she took a sip of her beer. _

"_What are you thinking, Lo?"_

_She looked at him for a second. She had a weird look in her eye that he couldn't place, which worried him a bit. He thought he'd gotten all the looks in her eyes down. Leave it to her to be unpredictable on a night where cheeseburgers were their nice dinner. She still hadn't said anything a minute later. Then she spoke abruptly._

"_You're going to make a great father someday, Smallville. I think you should have a wife first, though." She walked up to him and kneeled. Clark felt his eyes open up wider than he'd ever felt them before._

"_Clark Kent, will you marry me?"_

_He really wasn't the dominant one in this relationship. He could do just about anything imaginable, but leave it to Lois Lane to make the most powerful man in the world feel... good lord, he couldn't even think of the words to describe how he felt at this point. He shook off his shock and kneeled down in front of her._

"_Yes, of course I'll marry you, Lois." He leaned in and kissed her, smiling into her mouth as she reached up to wipe away a tear. Wow, she was actually tearing up over this. He hadn't seen tears in her eyes since she'd woken up from the coma. He pulled away from her, leaning his head lightly on hers._

"_I was planning on proposing to you tomorrow."_

_She laughed at him and leaned her head on his shoulder "Liar. You're just trying to recover your manly pride."_

_He reached in the pocket, pulling out the ring and holding it in front of her. "Call Chloe. Bet you twenty bucks she says I'm telling the truth."_

_She took the ring from his hand, gazing at it like it was the most precious thing she'd ever seen. "That's Martha's ring. You were going to give me your mothers ring?"_

"_I didn't even get the chance to ask for it. As soon as I told her I was planning on proposing, she slid it off and put it in my hand. It was faster than I'd seen her move in years."_

_Lois laughed again, now with tears streaming down her face like two little rivers. He wished he could be surprised, but it just made him fall in love with her a little more. He pushed her away from his shoulder and placed a finger under her chin, bringing her eyes to look into his own._

"_I love you, Lois Lane. I will love you until the end of time and then some, because we don't end. We are forever." He thought about what he'd said a second. "I really am over the top with the declarations of love, aren't I?"_

"_You really are Smallville, now shut up and get back to the kissing."_

"_Holy shit!"_

_Clark's eyes opened abruptly at the intrusion into his sleep. He blinked a few times before slapping a hand onto his face. He removed it and looked at the clock, finding it to be earlier than he wanted it to be. After the burgers had ended up getting burned from neglect, they'd decided they didn't want to bother with making food themselves. After a few hours, they finally ordered pizza out of necessity. They'd used up all they're energy in an entirely satisfactory way._

_Sitting up, Clark found Lois staring in a mirror. "What is it, Lo?"_

_She turned slowly and looked at him. "What the f-ck is going on?"_

_He knew firsthand that she didn't like mornings, but apparently this one was going to take the cake. He did his best to rub the sleep from his eyes as he took a deep breath and readied himself to handle some craziness._

"_Are you referring to anything specific, Lois? That's a very broad question."_

"_Ok, let me narrow things down then! Why do I have scars all over my face? Why do I look years older than I did last night? And why in God's name were we in bed together?"_

_Now he was awake. This wasn't good. She couldn't have forgotten again, not now. _

"_Please tell me you're joking, Lois. If you're pulling a very cruel practical joke, it's too early for it after the night we had. I feel like I ran a marathon, and you know what it takes for me to feel that tired."_

"_Hey, you don't get to complain! I'm sore in a very specific spot I should remember getting sore, and yet here I am, no memory of the events that would induce it."_

_And there were the two words he had been so afraid he was going to hear. No memory. She'd forgotten again, the night that they'd gotten engaged. God, he felt like he was in a bad television show that needed some easy drama. He had to make sure, though._

"_Lois, what's today's date?"_

"_It's June 8__th__, 2008, Smallville. Or at least it should be. So let me ask again: what the hell is going on?"_

_Clark sighed. "It's January 3__rd__, 2016, Lois. The reason you're sore is because... because we got engaged last night and were celebrating the way newly engaged couples do."_

_She looked at him a second, eyes wide, then very suddenly broke out into laughter. This went on for a few minutes, and Clark tried to limit himself to only a few eye rolls. He'd forgotten that them together as a couple had been a laughable topic for her eight years ago. When her guffaws died down, she sat on the bed next to him._

"_Thanks, Smallville. I needed that."_

"_Look at your ring finger, Lo."_

_He watched as she did so, and this time when her eyes went wide she didn't burst into laughter. He thought he saw her mouth the words 'Martha's ring' when she noticed it, but wasn't sure. She just looked up at him, deer caught in the headlights being an appropriate way to describe her. _

"_Oh."_

- - -

"I can't believe I actually proposed to you."

"Yeah, neither can I. I can't say that it emasculated me, though, because in the grand scheme of things, you're the strongest woman I've ever known, and that's just you being you."

Lois thought about his statement for a second. She was the strongest woman that he knew? But surely Martha and Chloe... but he'd said her... was her mind actually being blown? She shook her head. Only Clark Kent could do that to her, and she loved every bit of it.


	35. Chapter 35

---- Chapter 35

"I hadn't ever realized until now just how long work could seem without coffee in the morning to give me a kick in the ass to wake up. It's kind of unbelievable, really, because as much as I love it here at the Planet, I really feel like going home and going back to bed right now."

"You could drink decaffeinated coffee, Lois. It's not like it's unavailable to you. You're the one who said that coffee without caffeine is just a brown drink not worth having."

Lois glared at Clark, who in her mind should have at least faked sympathy in response. Here she was, his pregnant wife, tired the Monday after a five day weekend as she was barred from having the elixir that she loved so much, and he was taunting her with her own damn quotes! She was happy that he was Kryptonian because it meant her attempts to strangle him couldn't succeed. Otherwise he might be in trouble.

She spun around once in her desk chair, losing the battle to focus her mind in on the story Perry had assigned them when they'd walked in that morning. Apparently there was a big news conference about something at City Hall in a couple hours and they were being sent to cover it. Until then, they were to brainstorm on what could be the topic of conversation. She didn't think she could be much help on this.

"Ok, Smallville, start your brain on some thunder and lightning. I don't have a clue on what could be going on at City Hall these days to warrant this occasion because I don't even know who the mayor is."

"We are currently in the midst of the Sackett administration. He promotes education, cleaning up the city and being in the pocket of Lex."

Lois say up, looking at Clark. "The Mayor's in Lex's pocket too?"

"Unlike the city council, it's a pretty open fact that Sackett is Lex's puppet. Lex was the main monetary contributor to his campaign, not to mention the political minds he hired to make sure that he won."

"Then why the hell aren't we going after him? It seems like an open and shut article."

"We have. We've done something like six articles showing the links between the two before and after the election. One of them actually resulted in a recall vote that only failed by about a couple thousand votes. It was such a big deal that nearly ninety percent of the city voted."

"How could a recall vote possibly fail? If somebody is obviously in the pocket of somebody else, especially Lex Luthor, shouldn't people rise up and bitch slap the guy? Does the populace not yet realize just how bad of a person Lex really is?"

Clark shrugged at her, rubbing at one of his ears before he spoke. "Lex still gives off this persona of being a humanitarian, interested in doing what's best for everybody. While the people in Smallville knew it was a sham, he's refined his act quite a bit since then. Giant donations to numerous charities, most of which he owns and can filter the money away from, has kept people from looking too deeply at what he does.

"Unfortunately, a lot of people are also afraid of what will happen to them if they go against him. The Star has a policy that they won't break any news that negatively affects him. Once somebody else breaks the news and has the spotlight, they'll jump all over it, but until then..." He shrugged again and Lois felt her frown deepen.

"What the hell happened to journalists? We're supposed to be the watchdogs that keep people in line, but an entire newspaper actually has a policy to not break news about somebody! If the editor or writers at The Star had any balls, they'd be out there acting like real journalists and taking the chances."

Lois stood up, unable to find an outlet for her frustration while sitting down. She rubbed at one of her temples a second before she took a couple deep breaths to calm herself down. She really didn't need to let this make her angry and stressed out, because that probably wouldn't be good for AJ. She sat back down, letting one hand rest on her stomach, slowly tracing circles over the spot she'd felt AJ on Friday.

"Please tell me that the Planet never tried to enact such ridiculousness because the board was afraid of Lex."

"Oh, I wish I could. Perry was threatening to resign if they tried to hobble us, and that stayed their hand for a couple weeks, but they decided to go ahead with it anyway."

---

"_This is total bullshit! They're going to screw with our ability to report the news, let you resign and still have the audacity to call this The Daily Planet? The Daily Wimp would be a much more accurate name!"_

_Clark sat next to Lois in Perry's office, both of them watching him pack up his things. It had been two months since she'd forgotten again, and it had been a tumultuous two months to say the least. It seemed that his engagement to Lois had been a catalyst for everything to start going sideways._

_The memory loss had been the beginning of it, the first major event. Clark had called Chloe after trying to explain everything to Lois, finding her to be less than believing of the truth, most of which she thought was ridiculous. Chloe had flown to Metropolis a few hours later. _

_Bruce and Jack had arrived that night, and the Wayne clan stayed for a few days while they all did their best to help Lois with the transition. Chloe said that it went as well as it had when she'd forgotten in 2013, which they both assumed was as well as could be expected when breaking this sort of news to somebody. Really, how were things SUPPOSED to go when telling somebody they have an unbelievable form of amnesia? _

_A few weeks and some strange transition after that, they'd gotten a call from Bruce that Jack was in the hospital with a serious infection. He'd been tempted to reveal his secret to her right then so they could go right away, but decided against it. It turned out he didn't need to anyway; Lois had called her dad and asked him to get them a flight to Gotham when every commercial flight had been booked solid. _

_Jack was released a week later, on his second birthday, but not after some tense moments. Chloe had yelled at two of the finest pediatricians in the country, which Lois had found funny because Jack was already getting better and she hadn't yelled when he wasn't. Clark thought that it was touching, but wished he had never had to see it. He'd have preferred that Jack had never been sick at all, as they all did. _

_The next Friday at work, the news had hit that the board was considering a similar ban to the one that The Star had enacted. That had brought them to where they were now._

_"Look, hon, I agree with you. That's why I resigned: I don't want to work for a newspaper that isn't willing to actually be a newspaper, too scared to be useful to its readers. Anything dealing with Lex Luthor doing something illegal should be top story most days, front and center. If a paper in his hometown isn't willing to do that, I'll find one somewhere else that is." _

_Clark decided to chime in. "Where do you think you're going to go, Chief?"_

_"I've heard that the editor of the Los Angeles Times is on thin ice because of falling sales, so I might head out west to see where the heads. Hell, twenty minutes after I submitted my resignation I got a call from Newsweek, but I'm a newspaper man at heart. For the next couple weeks, though, I plan on doing some relaxing to let my blood pressure go back to a level that doesn't require medication." _

_"I'm quitting too."_

_Clark looked over at Lois, not believing what he was hearing. "WHAT?"_

_"You heard me. If they don't want to cover Lex Luthor in all his evil bastard glory, then I don't want to work here anymore either. I can find a new job with a paper that isn't scared of the news. I'll go where you go, Perry, if they'll have me." _

_"Any paper that's in print would want to have you, Lois, but are you sure about this?"_

_"I wanted to work at the Daily Planet because it was the best. The best stories, the best writers and the best editor. Then we got an even better editor in you. Chloe's gone and now the board is doing its best to not be the best anymore, so I don't want to work here." _

_"But Lo..."_

_"You still haven't earned the use of that nickname, Smallville."_

_Clark rolled his eyes, rubbing a hand over his face. Apparently today was going to be a difficult day when it came to the details. It made sense, though, since she was all kinds of pissed off. He was going to have to approach this one softly. _

_"Look, Lois, I admire your position on this, I really do, but you've made such a difference here. All your coverage of Superman has really helped the world accept him and see what he stands for. He might have been feared like Batman, which is something he's admitted to not wanting." _

_"Oh come on, Smallville. Superman doesn't need me anymore, and since I can't remember all the articles or investigations we did together anyway, I don't think I'm much use to him. If need be, I can refer him to you for articles that he wants written." _

_"I don't think he's ever actually requested an article written, Lois."_

_She threw her hands up in the air. "Who cares? I mean, yeah, I really like the guy because he's amazing and has the looks of Greek God..."_

_She trailed off and just stared into space for a minute. Clark looked to Perry, who rolled his eyes and motioned for Clark to snap her out of her reverie. Of course it fell to him since he was the guy that was engaged to her for a whole... what, twelve hours before she forgot? He knew better than anyone that she hated being snapped out of a reverie because one, she hated being accused of getting lost in a daydream, and two, she liked her daydreams. _

_With a sigh, he laid a hand on her shoulder, causing her to shake her head and look at him. _

_"What are you doing?"_

_"You zoned out for a second."_

_"I did not." She paused for a second before continuing. "And even if I did, you know how much I like my daydreams!" She turned away from him, looking at Perry instead. "That aside, I mean it when I say I'm leaving. We're a good team, Perry." _

_"The team is Lane and Kent, Lois, not White and Lane."_

_"You know what I mean. Clark seems like he wants to stay, despite the fact that his abilities as a journalist are being cuffed by the big wigs, so he can have his own byline now. I'm sure the new editor will be giddy about having him, and we'll be able to start fresh somewhere new." _

_Perry walked around his desk and leaned back on it in front of Lois, smiling at her. "I appreciate the loyalty, Lois, I really do, but the best way for you to make a difference is to stay right here. Stay at the Daily Planet and keep doing what you do, which is getting the stories. If you find anything especially inflammatory on Luthor, you can send it to me and I'll print it under an alias." _

_"No. I refuse to work for a paper that doesn't have the balls to break stories on a guy that is evil. I don't care if he can destroy me. He tried once and failed. If he tries again, I'm taking him with me or going down swinging, and I can't do that here anymore."_

_Lois stood up and walked out of the office before Clark could get a word in edgewise. Through Perry's window, he watched her walk through the bullpen, grab her jacket and purse and walk to the elevator. Before the doors could close on her, he caught sight of her face. She looked grim and determined. It was the look she always got when she was doing something she hated. _

_Clark sat back down, letting his head droop down to look at the floor. "The woman I love wants to leave and I can't stop her. Hell, I can't even blame her. If the situation were different, I'd leave too." _

_Perry stopped what he was doing and looked back at Clark. "What situation?"_

_Clark very quickly realized what he'd said. Not good, not good at all. "Um, well, you know, my mom's getting up there in years and Metropolis is close enough that it's not a very long drive to get back to Smallville. I like being within a good distance of her since she's living alone at the farm, in case she needs any help." _

_Perry nodded, seemingly satisfied, and Clark let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. This whole thing was getting out of control. Perry was resigning, Lois had decided she was going to quit to follow Perry wherever he went because apparently she had become his groupie, and he was making references to his alter ego without even thinking about it! Admittedly, that was the least of his problems at the moment. _

_He stood up out of the chair he was in. "Chief, I'm going to go do... something. I feel pretty useless at the moment." He shrugged and walked out of the office, making his way back to his desk. He sat down, not really knowing what to do with himself. Perry hadn't bothered assigning him an article that morning since he'd been busy with resigning, and he and Lois didn't have any ongoing investigations. _

_Just then the phone on Lois's desk started ringing. Thinking about it a second, he stood and reached over to it, grabbing the receiver. "Lois Lane's desk."_

_"Clark? Why are you answering Lois's phone?"_

_"Hello to you too, Chloe."_

_"Hello, Clark." He could almost hear her rolling her eyes. "Where's Lois?"_

_"I have no idea. She took off a little while ago."_

_"Took off? Was she following a lead?"_

_"Nope. She said she was going to quit The Daily Planet."_

_"WHAT?"_

_Clark held the phone away from his ear, shaking off the shock of hearing Chloe produce such loud sounds. He always forgot that she liked to yell when surprised._

_"The board is imposing restrictions on what we can print about Lex. Perry resigned earlier in protest of the policy, and while we were in his office talking about it Lois suddenly says that she's going to quit because of it. I don't know if she's done it yet, but she had that look on her face she always gets when she is headed to do something she knows she has to but really isn't looking forward to it." _

_Chloe was silent a second before speaking. Clark moved over and sat down and Lois's desk._

_"Unbelievable. I never thought I'd see the day where my beloved Daily Planet started caving in to pressure of asshole billionaires that think they can control the media. They shouldn't be able to, yet here you are in this situation." _

_"I don't know what I'm going to do, Chloe. If she really leaves Metropolis...I already lost my fiancée to the memory loss. I can't lose being around her. It's all I have left, because she doesn't even want to listen to me when I try to talk about how good we were together. Anytime I even get near the subject she changes it." Pausing for a second, Clark thought about what he had said. "I think this is the closest to brooding I've been in a long time." _

_"As much as it pains me to say it, I think you'd actually be entitled to one if Lois left Metropolis. I know this is hard on you, Clark, but if Lois feels strongly enough to leave the Planet over this, then there's nothing you or I can do about it." _

_Clark sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He knew Chloe was right, but that didn't mean he liked it. This was awful. He just wanted to take Lois in his arms and never let go, to make sure she was safe. _

_"Maybe she could work at the Gazette with you, Chlo. At least then, if she does leave, she'll be near to family and Bruce will be able to keep an eye on her exploits. I figure it's kind of important for her to have somebody nearby, too, in case she forgets again. Were she to wake up in a strange city and not know how to contact anybody... well, it's just another thing in all this that I can see going wrong. _

_"To be honest, I want her at the Gazette for selfish reasons, too. I know that she'd be at the manor a fair amount of time, and whenever I flew there to see you guys I might get to see her too. I just can't believe how wrong everything has gone... having missed her last memory loss, I didn't realize how total and encompassing it would be. She became a different person in just over five hours of sleep." _

_"I know, Clark. It's something you have to experience to believe. And I know it's overwhelming, but don't give up on her just yet. You found your way into her heart after her last memory loss, and I think this time will be the same." _

_Clark sighed, looking around the bullpen. It seemed that a lot of people were out on assignment or had the day off. "It hurts like nothing I've ever felt, Chloe. When Lois was attacked, I thought that was as low as I got, but at least there was some reason in that. This... I may as well have gotten dumped. The only difference is that she did it unintentionally." _

_"Look, I empathize with you Clark, I really do, but if you don't want Lois to leave, I suggest that you focus on the solution and not the problem. And if you are going to focus on the problem, focus on the right one. Lois hasn't left yet. Fight. Keep her there, not just for you, but for Metropolis. The city needs her almost as much as it needs Superman." _

_They talked for the next forty five minutes, throwing around ideas. Chloe went so far as to suggest revealing his identity to her to keep her there and keep doing the work she started, but Clark wasn't fond of the idea. He hated that he had to affect his meek persona around her again, but he also didn't feel that he should use Superman to solve his problems. That would, in all likelihood, just cause more problems. _

_When they hung up, Clark found himself in little better shape than he'd been before the phone call. _

_He stood up, looking around the room again and found people gathered around Perry's office. Clark headed that way, people letting him through as the crowd began to disperse around him. Confused, he walked into the office and found Perry siting in his chair, face half hidden by a box as he frowned. _

_"What's wrong, Chief?"_

_"I was telling everybody else the bad news. This isn't public knowledge yet, since it only happen about twenty minutes ago, but hearing that I had resigned, Luthor put in a very generous offer to buy the paper. Seems he wasn't satisfied with the new policy. Apparently, now that I am leaving, it's a newspaper worth owning and controlling." _

_Clark sat down heavily. It felt like the only thing that could go wrong after this was somebody dying. He looked up at Perry, a sad smile on his face._

_"I guess I may as well quit too, because I'm fairly certain the first thing Lex will do when things are finalized is fire me. I never thought ownership would sell..."_

_Very suddenly, an idea hit. He shot up out of his chair. Why the hell hadn't he thought of this before? If the problem was at the top, then replace the top people!_

_"Chief, I gotta go... don't give up hope yet."_

_Clark pulled out his cell as he walked through the bullpen, making his way through the crowd to the stairway. Taking a quick glance around, he super sped up to the roof. He scrolled through his numbers and found Chloe's cell, dialing it. It rang a couple times before she answered. _

_"Didn't we just talk, Clark?"_

_"Yes, we did. Where's Bruce?"_

_"You could call him and ask that, you know."_

_"I do, but he only answers his cell one of every five times it rings unless it's you or Lois. Therefore I am just going to go talk to him."_

_"Well, I guess that makes sense. He's actually in Metropolis doing some business. He was going to drop in at the apartment tonight and surprise you two. Being his courteous self, I had to talk him into doing it, but I have my ways." _

_"That's great, Chloe. Where in Metropolis?_

_"Looks like it's an impatient day. I don't know where exactly Bruce is. He had business meetings all over and didn't leave me with an itinerary."_

_"Damn it. Will you call him and ask him to meet me at the apartment as soon as possible? If he can't make it, have him call me. I prefer to ask for a favor of this magnitude in person, though." _

_Chloe assented, and after a quick change of clothes, Clark took off into the sky, heading towards his apartment. A few seconds later he was landing in an alley nearby; he'd have landed on the balcony, but he didn't know where Lois was and didn't want to take any chances. He figured he could have x-rayed the apartment to see if she was there, but this wasn't any trouble. He had to wait for Bruce anyway. _

_Giving a quick nod to the doorman, Clark made his way into the building and took the elevator up to his floor. After the day he'd had so far, it felt good to have a little hope again. If he could convince Bruce to do this for him, it would save the day. _

_Clark tried unlocking the door, but found it to already be in that state. Shrugging, he figured they'd forgotten this morning and walked into the apartment, fully prepared to super speed around and clean up the place when he was confronted with Lois and Bruce sitting on the couch. He thought they both looked surprised to see him, and figured he looked the same. It was a good thing he'd landed nearby after all. _

_"Smallville, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be saying your farewells to Perry."_

_"I was coming to clean up, actually. I just talked to Chloe and asked her to call you, Bruce, and ask you to meet me here." Just then, a phone went off and Bruce reached into his pocket, pulling his out. _

_"Speaking of my wife... excuse me." Bruce walked out on to the balcony to talk to Chloe, and Clark took the opportunity to sit down next to Lois._

_"How did you know Bruce was in Metropolis?"_

_"I didn't. I called him to ask about possibly setting Perry and I up with jobs at the Gazette, since he owns the thing, and was pleasantly surprised. We were actually planning on going out to lunch soon. I wanted to ask him face to face about it, since it's a pretty big favor." _

_"Trust me, Lois, what I'm going to ask is bigger."_

_That was when Bruce walked back in the room. "Chloe says you need to ask a favor of me, Clark."_

_"I do. Lois has been telling you about what's going on with The Daily Planet board and all that nonsense, I take it?"_

_"She has."_

_"Well, there's a new twist: Lex has put in a big offer to buy the paper, according to Perry. Apparently, now that he's resigned, Lex wants to own the paper."_

_Lois shot up off the couch, arms flailing. "What? The board can't seriously be considering that! It's blasphemy!"_

_"I know, Lois. Lex could come out of this deal looking squeaky clean, though. I'm pretty sure that what's happened is that he's behind the new Luthor friendly policy. He's probably been leaning on the board, knowing that when the y did it Perry would resign. Who's going to say anything, though, since he's probably blackmailing most of them? They finally do enact it, Perry leaves and he buys the paper, free and clear of the mess of firing him when circulation is so high. That's why I wanted to see Bruce, though." _

_He turned to hm, taking a deep breath before continuing. _

_"Bruce, I wanted to ask you to bid over the top of Lex and buy The Daily Planet."_

_- - -_

"Wait. Bruce owns the paper now?"

Clark nodded and she looked away. They were in a cab now, the long story having taken until now to finish. City Hall was still five minutes away.

"Bruce was more than happy to add The Daily Planet to Wayne Enterprises media holdings. I never heard how much money he ended up spending for it, but I doubt it was cheap, even for a billionaire. Once everything was done, though, he brought Perry back in and neither of us had to quit. I still don't know what I would have done if you'd have moved away."

"You'd have ended up with me and we'd be together, Smallville. Now that you have me convinced of that, I really believe it. Our love conquers all."

She watched Clark smile, and found herself doing the same. "Have I told you recently that I love you, Lo?"

"Not nearly enough, Smallville."


	36. Chapter 36

---- Chapter 36

"Pregnant lady coming through, people. Move it!"

Lois pushed her way through the other reporters covering the news conference, Clark trailing behind her as she made her way towards the front of the pack. When she finally got somewhere she liked, she stopped and pulled out her notepad, sticking her pencil in her mouth while she flipped to a blank page. She spoke around it.

"Ya know Smallville, you could have led the way here instead of having your pregnant wife do it."

"I could have, but I know how you enjoy plowing thought a crowd of people. Plus," he said as he leaned down next to her ear, "the Clark Kent everybody here knows does not push his way through a crowd. He lets his wife push her way through a crowd and follows her. That's not entirely me affecting a persona, though."

She would have said something about that, but found that the Mayor was stepping up to the podium.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming. I've called this press conference to announce that after much consultation and consideration, I am going to run for governor of the great state of Kansas!"

Lois looked to Clark, who wore an expression of shock. That wore off very quickly and numerous hands went up with questions, Lois's included. After getting a couple of the usual questions about what he thought he could do, the governor finally pointed to Lois for her question.

"Mayor Sackett, Lex Luthor was a major contributor to your campaign to run the city and has been a big point of contention during your time in office. Are you going to be getting that same kind of support in your bid to run the state, and are you expecting the same kind of reactions?"

Though the saccharine smile was still plastered on his face, she thought she saw his eyes narrow for a second. If he was going to let her ask a question, she wasn't going to pull any punches.

"I will welcome any support that Mr. Luthor would like to give my campaign. He's been a great philanthropist for our city and I've been honored to have his support in the past."

When he started taking questions again, Lois had to hold back her scoff at the claim of Lex Luthor being a philanthropist. She looked over at Clark, who wore a frown that was probably similar to hers.

"This just reeks of puppetry, doesn't it?"

Clark nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. I don't think people are gullible enough to actually ever vote Lex into any kind of office, but if he has somebody that is obviously his man in there, well..." He stopped talking, and after a few seconds she placed a hand on his arm.

"What's wrong?"

"I hear something." He lowered his glasses, looking at the podium the mayor was standing behind. "Lois, get out of here."

"What?"

"Please, Lo. Just go!"

Clark started running, pulling at his tie and disappeared into an alley. Lois started making her way through the crowd of people while she stuffed her notepad back in her purse. She'd almost made her way to a taxi when a red and blue blur flew overhead. She turned and saw Clark tearing at the podium, grabbing something and flying into the sky again. A second later there was a massive explosion above, drawing her stare. That had to have been two miles up and she'd still felt the thump in her chest.

She strained her eyes to look for Clark, but couldn't see anything up where the explosion had happened. Had he flown off? After waiting a minute to see if he showed up as himself again, she hopped in the taxi and had the driver take her back to the Planet.

When she got back, she walked into the newsroom to find people huddled around the television.

"Lois! What the hell happened down there?"

She looked over to Perry, who was walking up to her from the televisions. "Superman got the bomb far enough away that nobody was injured. Don't ask me how he knew it was there. I could still feel it in my chest, though, and it was a ways away, so it was no small explosion."

"That's what we've been watching. There's slow motion footage of Superman being blown away by the bomb. He looked like a rag doll in a hurricane, tumbling through the air. It's only about two seconds worth of footage, but he was really moving."

Ok, now Lois was getting worried. What the hell kind of bomb had that been? The brief glimpse she'd gotten of it had confirmed that it wasn't very big; hell, it had to have been able to fit in the podium. Obviously there had been some real advancements in bomb technology since 2008.

"Lois, did you hear me?"

Lois focused her eyes in on Perry again. "Sorry, Chief. What did you say?"

"I asked you where Clark is."

Damn, she hadn't even thought of an excuse for that. What could he be doing? "He, um, stayed behind to get quotes. I wanted to come in and file the initial story for the evening edition. We'll put his stuff in for tomorrow morning."

Perry nodded at her, then walked back over to the TV's telling people to break up the crowd and get people back to writing the news instead of watching it.

Lois sat down at her desk and typed up the story on autopilot. She was too worried about Clark and confused about what had happened. Why had somebody wanted to blow up Mayor Sackett at a press conference? Well, that was probably a silly question; if everybody knew he was in Lex's pocket, he wouldn't be short on enemies. But why this conference?

More importantly, where the hell was Clark?

Lois sent her article to Perry's computer, still not really concentrating on what she was doing. Was it normal for him to take this long to come back from a save like this? Why the hell did her stupid ass memory have to be defective? Not knowing without being able to remember what had happened before, without seeing him coming back before, felt worse than she could possibly imagine.

She grabbed her cell phone and scrolled to Clark's name, telling the thing to dial him. She waited through five rings before his voice mail answered. Frustrated, she shoved her phone back to where it had been, rubbing the palms of her hands into her eyes. She remembered when all this had started that she had wanted to see him in action as Superman. Now that she had, she respected what he dealt with every day even more. Too bad it appeared to be something that worried the hell out of her.

Lois spent the next two hours getting progressively more worried until she was to the point where she thought she was going to burst. She'd never been one to sit and wait for things, and now she knew why: it was torture. What the hell was taking him so long? Was he hurt? Did he need her help?

Was he even alive?

If he was, she was going to kill him for making her feel like this.

She hated being powerless. There was already enough in her life that made her feel that way, and she didn't need the possible death of her husband to be the same. It was bad enough to have the fact that she was going to forget all this in two or three years looming over her head. If it was going to be like this all the time...

Sighing, she grabbed a piece of lettuce off of her salad and popped it in her mouth. For the first time she could remember since she'd woken up, she wasn't hungry. She was forcing herself to down some nutritious food anyway, not wanting her anxious state to do anything to negatively affect the baby. Having an empty stomach only made her feel more on edge anyway, and while she wasn't eating anything particularly satisfying, it got the job done.

She finished her food, and after tossing the container walked over to Perry's office, walking in without bothering to knock.

"Any word on Superman yet, Chief?"

Perry shook his head. "Sorry, Lois. There's no sign of him anywhere. They haven't found an impact crater or anything to show that he hit the ground, so it looks like it'll be a waiting game."

Lois left his office feeling just as anxious as she'd been going in. What the hell could have happened? What kind of bomb had that even been? Were they designing bombs to take out Superman now?

Shaking her head and having had enough of waiting, Lois grabbed her coat and purse and headed to the elevator. The ride down was excruciatingly slow, driving her to the brink of punching the 'Open' button when she got to the lobby but the door was taking its time opening. When it finally did so, she walked out and tried to hail a cab. A few minutes later one actually stopped for her and she jumped in, instructing the man to the apartment.

The cab ride was nothing but one long negative thought on what could have happened. She told her mind to think of good things, like Jordan of AJ, but that just led to her thinking about if Clark had been killed and she ended up having to raise the children without him. Stupid mind and it's worst case scenario tendencies.

Once there, she tossed some money at the man and got out, barely acknowledging the doorman as she entered the building. The elevator ride up was nearly as excruciating as the ride down at the paper had been, but since it wasn't as long didn't cause her as much grief. She took to tapping her foot on the ground in impatience while she waited for the ride to end. When it finally did so, she walked as quickly as she could to their door.

For a second it dawned on her how quickly she'd come to think of everything as theirs instead of hers. It was hers and Clark's, together, not just hers and his that just happened to be together. In sixteen days she had embraced what they had together and completely changed the way she saw belongings.

Man, he was really good at making her fall in love.

Shaking off the thought, Lois unlocked the apartment and walked inside, dropping her coat and purse on a chair as she walked straight to the balcony. She opened the door and walked outside again, ignoring the cold of late November. Taking a couple deep breaths, she let the coldness embrace her a second before continuing with her first and simplest plan.

"Superman!"

He always heard her. That's what Chloe had said. If he always heard her, then he damn sure better not change that now.

"Superman, you get your ass to this apartment RIGHT now and let me know you're alright or I swear, I will find you and figure out a way to take out my wrath on you for making me so damn anxious and worried!"

She stood out there for ten minutes, yelling things about what she was going to do in very graphic and precise detail, making sure he knew just how displeased she was for having to live without knowing if he was alive. When she started shivering, she walked back inside and let herself thump down on the couch.

God, if there were only some way for her to know he was ok, then she wouldn't have to feel like this. He'd only been missing a few hours, and she already felt like a piece of her was missing. Was this what true love really was? Not knowing and worrying like a mad woman that was probably over reacting? The way he made her feel, she'd never felt that way before in her life, never that good. But now, she didn't know if she'd ever felt this bad before.

How was she going to figure this out? How was she going to know... the bracelet. The diary had said that the bracelet let her feel what he was feeling. It had been how she'd always known he was ok back then.

She raced into the bedroom and thumped the dresser a couple times until the drawer popped open. She grabbed the bracelet and the diary and moved to sit on the bed. She sat the bracelet down and checked the diary entry again, making sure she was remembering correctly.

_It let's you feel some of what he's feeling. It feeds you his emotions, more or less_

Lois sat the diary down, assured of what she needed to do. She grabbed the bracelet, took a deep breath, and slipped it on her left arm. She didn't feel anything for a second, but that ended quickly. All at once she felt awful. She started hurting all over and felt sick to her stomach. She blinked back tears and started gulping air through her mouth to deal with the pain, her mouth wide open as she tried to breathe through the pain.

Very quickly she realized that this couldn't be good for AJ, so she reached over, her movements sluggish, and pulled off the bracelet. As quickly as it started, the pain and nausea ended.

Now failing to blink back the tears, Lois made her way out to the living room again and pawed through her purse until she finally got hold of her phone. She found the number she was looking for and dialed it.

"Hello?"

"He's hurt, Chloe. He's hurt and I don't know where he is. Nobody does."

"Lois? What's going on?"

"Mayor Sackett had a press conference. Clark heard something, I don't know what, and looked around. He found a bomb in the podium that was about to go off and pretty quickly changed into his Superman outfit nearby and flew in to stop it. All he had time to do was grab it and fly up into the air, apparently, because that's what he did."

"Why didn't he just throw it?"

"I don't know, but it went off a second later a mile or two up in the air. The footage, Chloe... there's footage on the news playing in slow motion of Superman being blown through the air like a rag doll , tumbling away from the explosion." She stopped for a second, wondering why Chloe didn't know any of this. "You work at a newspaper, Chloe! How have you not heard about this?"

"Silly as it seems right after Thanksgiving, I took the day off. Jack had the day off from school so I got all the kids scheduled with the dentist today. That's where I am right now, and I haven't been watching or listening to any news all day. I find my children are oddly disinterested in it Are you sure he didn't just have another save to make after he regained his senses?"

"I got tired of waiting at the Planet because I felt like a bundle of nerves. I came back to our apartment and yelled for Superman until I was blue in the face, both from using up all my breath and standing out in the cold. That came to no avail, so I was inside worrying when I remembered about the bracelet. I put it on, Chloe, and I felt like.. God, I don't know. I hurt all over and felt sick to my stomach."

Chloe then said a word that chilled Lois to the bone. "Kryptonite."

"The stuff that hurts him? Chloe, how the hell could that have happened?"

"I don't know. Look, I'm going to call Bruce. He needs to hear about this ASAP, as does the League. Call Ollie. His number should be somewhere in your phone, if not under his own name under the initials G.A."

Lois hung up without saying goodbye, then called Ollie and brought him up to speed on what was happening. He promised her that there would be Justice League people in Metropolis within the hour searching for Superman. Lois wished that they'd be there faster.

Her job through, Lois didn't know what to do with herself. She really wanted to hug Jordan close right now and just find comfort in the feeling of her daughters arms wrapped around her. She was in Smallville, though, with Martha. She doubted that Martha had heard anything about this, and she really didn't feel like breaking the news again, but knew she had to. Martha was his mother, and had a right to know. Lois would want to know if something happened to Jordan.

Drumming up what small amount of confidence she currently had, she called the farm.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Martha. It's Lois."

"Oh, hello dear. To what do I owe the pleasure of this midday call? If you want to talk to Jordan, she's napping at the moment, but has slept enough that she wouldn't be too cranky to talk after waking up."

"Actually, it's better I don't talk to her right now. As much as I want to, I'm kind of a mess, and I think she'd pick up on it."

"What's wrong?"

"I think Clark's been hurt, and nobody has been able to find him."

"Then why do you think he's hurt? If nobody has been able to find him... you used the bracelet, didn't you?"

Jeez, had she told everybody _but_ Clark about how the thing worked? "Yeah. I uh, I put it on a little while ago and started hurting all over and feeling like I was going to be sick. Chloe said that's what kryptonite does to Clark. If that's only a part of what he's feeling..."

"Honey, he's going to be ok, I promise. Clark has a way, much like you do, of getting through situations most people wouldn't. You two are survivors. Keep using the bracelet every once in a while; as long as you feel something, take comfort in the fact that he's alive."

Lois talked to Martha a little while longer, and both agreed that Jordan should spend the night at the farm. Lois promised to keep Martha updated and hung up, sighing as she did so. She was getting nowhere fast and was feeling so powerless that she couldn't stand it. She needed something to distract her, to keep her mind occupied.

She had moved into the bedroom while talking to Martha and was laying on the bed. Looking over, the diary was where she had left it. She grabbed it and opened it up to the first entry she hadn't read yet, hoping it was as happy as the last couple had been.

1/03/18

I hate days like this.

Clark says that he knows he can't save everybody, but I think what makes him great is that when he can't save somebody, it still hurts him to the core.

Late in the afternoon Superman was on a quick patrol of the city while things were slow at work. He likes to patrol when things are slow under the guise of meeting a source, because muggers seem as likely to strike during the day as they are at night recently. This is obviously troubling both of us, but Clark more so.

There was a call for help on the other side of town, and he raced there as fast as he could, but didn't get there in time. A two year old girl named Jenny had climbed out on a high rise balcony and fallen off. He saw her hit the ground as he tried to reach her.

Perry sent me to cover the story, and I found Superman doing his best to console the mother and father. I knew as soon as I saw his eyes that Clark was hurting, but I couldn't do anything then for obvious reasons.

It was tense for a moment when the father started to blame Superman for Jenny's death. Superman simply stood and took the verbal abuse for a moment until the mother stepped in and stopped it. She actually, despite her heartbreak, thanked Superman for what he did for Metropolis and told him that she understood him not being there in time.

After I got a few quotes and made sure my condolences were passed on to the parents, I headed back to the Planet and found Clark at his desk, fidgeting with a pencil while staring at his blank computer screen. When he noticed me after I'd watched him for a minute, he gave me a sad smile, but spoke as if he were ok. He had to, because of all the people in the bullpen.

I pulled him aside a few minutes later, hoping to get him to talk about it. I told him that we could leave early if he didn't feel up to work, since afternoon had turned to evening and it was only an hour until we were off, but he claimed that he would be ok and the work would keep his mind off of the little girl.

As you can probably guess, it didn't.

He left twenty minutes later to make a save, and after finishing up the story on Jenny's death, I turned it into the Chief and headed home. I found Clark sitting on the couch, elbows resting on his knees as he cradled his face in his hands. He hadn't even bothered to change out of his Superman suit as he sat there.

I've never figured out a surefire way to help him through it, so I decided that I just needed to be there for him. I shed my coat and tossed it over the back of a chair as I walked over to him, sitting down and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. I laid my head on him, hoping to convey how sorry I was. When he didn't move for a few minutes, I wasn't sure he'd even noticed me.

He finally moved, turning and pulling me into a fierce hug. I can't tell you how long that went on, because it didn't end so much as it did morph into us making love. I think Clark needed the affirmation that there was still good in the world, even if he knew it already. Even though it was about making him feel better tonight, I still come away from it feeling like the most loved person in the world. I don't know how he does it.

I'm so proud of what he does, if you hadn't noticed. I probably don't say it enough to him, really, but it isn't something that always needs to be said. I really hope that he knows how much I admire and respect what he does for not only Metropolis, but the entire world. We need a beacon of hope like Superman a lot of times, and nothing bad can come from somebody that inspires people to be better.

My greatest hope is that you never have to experience days where Clark is unable to save somebody, but I know that's unrealistic.

The best thing you can do for him when something like this happens, if it hasn't happened already, is to make sure he knows that you are there for him. If you haven't yet come to the conclusion you love him, then be there for him and let him know that he has his best friend there.

If it's been long enough since you forgot and you do love him, then tell him that. Tell him what he means to you, because it keeps the grief he feels over not being able to save people from overwhelming him. Show him that you love him. I don't mean for you to initiate sex; let him do that if he wants to. But touches, small things like placing a light kiss on his temple or cradling his head against you can go a long way.

Your love keeps him stable. Remember that.

Alright, that's enough about that. If you go back to my first entry in this thing, you'll see that I talked about when I last forgot, which was January 3rd, 2016. If you look back to the date on this entry, you'll find that it's been two years to the day since I lost my memory.

Let me tell you, it's been a strange ride (the start was bumpy, but it smoothed out). As you can tell from the entries in here, a little bit of everything has happened, and that's just in the last six months. Weddings, births, starting a diary so that when I forget in the future I have a little information from my own perspective... it's been busy.

I will say that most of the best things I can remember in my life have happened in the past two years. I fell in love with a man that I in no way deserve but love like I never knew I could. The fact that he loves me too is just icing on a cake I can't get enough of. I got to marry him, and spend the rest of my life with him, despite everything.

(In case Clark ever reads this, I love you so much it's scary. Even when I forget, I love you and just have to figure it out. To hold you over while I get out of my own way, I love you. Oh, and you suck for making me a sap.)

But not only did _I_ find happiness, but my de facto sister found happiness as well, in the form of an old friend of mine. Chloe and Bruce are not a match I would have ever thought of until I was told it happened. Looking on it now, though, it makes so much sense. Bruce found a woman that could handle the darkness in his life, and actually took some of it away for him. And Chloe found the brooding guy she always wanted (Well, that's her pattern, anyway).

From them, though, I got to feel the love of a boy that will be nothing less than amazing in whatever he does. He's already like his mother in so many ways, physical and mental, that it seems the only thing he's going to inherit from his father is the tendency to sit in dark places and be introspective. That is yet to be seen, though.

And from these two I again got to feel the love of a child. Two newborn girls that I'm sure will leave a mark on this world unlike any other. Holding them has been something I wish I could never forget (well, that goes for everything, really) and hope will get to do again someday, be it with more of Chloe's children or a baby of my own.

I'm sure stranger things have happened than Lois Lane Kent enjoying the act of holding a baby (If you're not surprised, come on. Up until the time we were attacked, the concept held no appeal at all, and now she's actually wondering if the next baby she holds will be her own!) It's sad that most of the stranger things I can think of have happened to me.

I guess it's time for me to wrap this thing up, considering the fact that I just had one of the more monstrous yawns I can remember. I swear, had it gone on another couple seconds my jaw would have either cramped up or just gone ahead and unhinged. I figure the latter is highly unlikely, but the former happens and always sucks.

On a random health note, I've been oddly exhausted for the last couple weeks. I really thought it would have gone away by now, and it's really starting to annoy the bejesus out of me and leading me to wonder if I caught a bug or something at the Planet. I talked to Chloe about it when we went to Gotham to celebrate the new year, and she just got the odd smile on her face. It looked like she was grinning cautiously, as odd as that sounds. She even asked me if I was drinking anything. I told her that I didn't really feel like it, and she did it again.

When I asked her about it, she just shook her head and said she'd been thinking about the twins. I told her I'd never seen her smile like that around the twins or anytime else, and she said to just forget it and that I would understand when I became a mother.

Is understanding strange smiles something only a mother can do that I hadn't heard about before? Maybe I should ask Martha about it to be sure.

I really think, though, that the lack of sleep for the last month has just impaired Chloe's judgement. Who knows, though... if I ever do become a mother, maybe I will understand. Only time will tell.

Well that hadn't really helped things. Of course she'd had to read the entry where Clark was all depressed because he couldn't save a little girl! It was just turning out to be that kind of stupid day. She was surprised that the story about Bruce buying the Daily Planet hadn't ended poorly. It would have fit a lot better.

Sighing once again, she tossed the diary on back on the bed, but started thinking about it. Her mind drifted to a depressed Clark. She remembered being with him when Alicia had been killed. He'd nearly killed the kid that had done it. She thought that he might have if she hadn't been there to talk him out of it as he strangled the guy.

Shaking her head, she made herself move on to a different topic. She thought about the end, with Chloe and her strange smiles about her being exhausted and not feeling like drinking. Suddenly it hit her; she must have been feeling the early pregnancy stuff at that point. Lois thought about when Jordan was born, August 18th 2018, and figured that had to be it. Clark had said Jordan had been born a little early, which probably meant that Lois was due in early September. That would mean she probably conceived around the beginning of December, when the twins were born.

So, apparently Chloe had gotten pregnant with her first child after Lois had forgotten and had provided Lois the same opportunity to conceive her first child during an occasion that warranted sex for one reason or another. Of course, since she and Clark had been married all of a month and half at that point, she doubted they needed much of an excuse. It made sense in her mind that it had happened, though. Hell, it made sense on a grand scale. Lois figured that big happenings were probably a leading cause of pregnancy.

Jesus, how had she ended up thinking about this? Of all the ridiculous topics to focus on while her husband was off hurt somewhere after saving a bunch of people...

Lois felt AJ flutter, kick or something and smiled sadly as she placed a hand over him and closed her eyes. "I know, baby. I miss him too."


	37. Chapter 37

---- Chapter 37

Lois woke up with a start. Blinking, she sat up and found that she was under the comforter, which she peeled off of herself. How had that happened? She didn't even remember falling asleep, and she didn't think that she would have put herself under the thing in the midst of her unplanned nap. Apparently laying on the bed thinking about Clark was just as dangerous as putting her head on his chest.

Covering her mouth as she yawned, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood up, stretching out as she did so. She ran a hand through her hair, hoping that she could make it look tousled instead just plain old messy, even if nobody else was there. Looking back at the bed, she spotted the diary and bracelet. Thinking for a moment, she walked over to the other side of the bed and grabbed the diary, stashing in the secret drawer before picking up the bracelet.

Closing her eyes, she steeled herself for what she'd felt earlier as she slipped the bracelet on again. It happened faster this time; she started to feel the pain as soon as she'd nestled it into place, but she was prepared for it and pulled the bracelet off more quickly. That was all she needed to know that he was still alive, even if he wasn't in the best of spots right now.

She sat on the bed for a moment after that, not thinking. She let her mind go blank and didn't let herself do any kind of worrying. It didn't last long, though, because she was interrupted by her stomach grumbling at her about food, or a severe lack thereof. She wasn't surprised; after two plus weeks of eating like a mad woman, she had suddenly stopped doing so, having only eaten a salad in the last... what the hell time was it?

She turned to look at the clock and for the first time realized that it was dark outside. She hadn't even thought about it until now. It hadn't been much after three when she'd finished reading the diary entry, and now it was... 8:30! Good lord, she'd slept for over five hours! No wonder she was feeling so hungry.

She pushed up off the bed and walked out of the bedroom into the living room. She stopped all of a sudden, spotting a woman with dark hair sitting on her couch and talking on a phone.

Lois looked around the room, making sure that she was still in her own apartment. Everything looked like it had earlier in the day. She looked down at herself, finding that she was still pregnant, and she remembered everything that was going on, so she hadn't lost her memory, which meant that this was some random person in her apartment.

"Who the hell are you?"

The woman looked up at her, not breaking stride with her conversation, and shot her a small smile before wrapping up her conversation. She pushed her phone into her pocket as she stood up.

"Lois, hello. I'm Diana Prince."

Diana... why did that name sound familiar? Hadn't Clark mentioned a woman named Diana early on that protected New York City like he did Metropolis? What had her super hero name been...

"Wait. Wonder Woman, right?"

The woman nodded. "I came to see how you were doing a little while ago and found you asleep, but shivering. I hope you don't mind me covering you up."

"How did you even get in?"

"There's a key hidden on top of the light right outside your door. I want to assure you that the Justice League is using all its resources to locate Clark. We all thought you could use a friendly face, even if it's one you can't remember."

Lois made her way to the kitchen, grabbing an apple out of the fridge. She took a bite, eying Diana a moment before swallowing and saying something. "I appreciate that the Justice League is doing everything it can to find him, but isn't there some way that he can be tracked? Don't you have a way to find your members?"

"We do, but..."

"Then why the hell aren't you using it to find him?"

"Clark doesn't wear an ear piece to keep in contact unless he's actually working with the League at the time. It's how we track people and stay in communication during missions. If Clark had been wearing one at the time, we'd have found his location in minutes, seconds even. As it is, we've been able to ascertain the direction he was blown but not a distance."

"Can't you, I don't know, use the news footage, find out how many frames per second the film is and determine a speed from that?"

"Lois, every action that can be taken is being taken. We'll find him, I promise. You just have to have patience. We've done this sort of thing before; the League always finds who or what it's looking for."

Lois sat down on the couch, and felt Diana sit down next to her. She stared at the floor eating her apple in silence. She didn't know this woman, at least not that she remembered, yet the woman treated her as if they'd spoken a hundred times before this. She knew it was annoying her more than it should because she was on edge, but she didn't really care, either.

"Why are you even here? You should be helping search and I can wait for news by myself."

"Like I said, everybody wanted to make sure that you were taken care of while this is going on."

"I don't need to be taken care of. I took care of myself for a long time."

"We all know about you and Clark expecting your second child, and we do not want you to get over anxious or have you expending too much energy during this ordeal and fainting."

Lois frowned at Diana. She did not faint! "I do not faint!"

"Right. Is there anything you need that I can get for you?"

"I need my husband."

They fell into a silence again, uncomfortable in at least ten different ways Lois could think of. She wanted to say something, anything, but what the hell do you say to an Amazon princess that protects New York City? Hey, how about them Knicks? Think they have a chance this year? Jeez, she didn't even know if anybody she'd seen play was still in the NBA.

Lois tossed the apple core on the coffee table, not wanting to hold it any longer and not having a trash can at hand. She looked at it a second, frowned again, stood up and grabbed it, carrying it to the kitchen to throw away. She leaned against a counter, staring at nothing in particular until she finally opened the freezer, reaching in and grabbing the ice cream Clark had gotten for her last night.

She was really glad she hadn't eaten as much as she'd wanted to then.

She grabbed a spoon and walked back to the living room, sitting down in a chair this time as she started digging into her ice cream. She relished the taste of the chocolate chip on top of the chocolate. She almost forgot about Diana for a moment, but once again noticed her sitting quietly on the couch. She looked at the remaining ice cream and then sighed.

"Do you want any of this?"

Diana looked over to her. "What?"

"Ice cream. Do you want any of it?"

"No, thank you."

After a few more quiet moments, Diana's phone rang and she picked it up, taking a few steps away from Lois towards the back of the apartment. Lois strained her ears to try and hear what she was saying, but couldn't make it out. She resigned herself to eating more ice cream. Finally, Diana turned around again.

"They found him. He's going to be ok."

Lois just about fell over in relief. "Where was he?"

"About two miles east of the city. There was a small fragment of kryptonite from the bomb that lodged itself in his neck. The bomb blast was very powerful, yes, but Clark would have returned promptly had it not been for that. The kryptonite has been removed and it will take a little time, but he'll recover."

Lois took another bite of ice cream before setting the spoon down in the cartoon and wiping at her eyes. Without prompting, Diana was over and handing her a box of tissues.

"Hormones."

A confused look crossed over Diana's face. "What about them?

Lois waved at her eyes, wiping away tears with her other hand. "The damn crying. Happy or sad, I've shed tears more times in the last sixteen days than I did in the five years leading up to my attack. The freakin' hormones have turned me into some goofy, weepy woman. It's driving me insane."

Diana smiled and moved back over to the couch. "Are you sure it's the hormones, Lois?"

"What else could it be?"

"You love Clark."

Lois thought there should be more to that statement. "And?"

"Love can do funny things to people, Lois. It makes you do things that you thought you never would, and makes you capable of things you never thought you could do. It gives you strength when you shouldn't have any, and it keeps you afloat when you should sink. It can even make you cry when your husband has been found and is going to be ok."

Lois swallowed, not knowing what to say to that. "I love Clark, but I'll stick with hormones."

"I knew you would."

A minute later Lois had gotten her eyes back under control and was able to get back to eating her ice cream. It wasn't what she really wanted, though. She wanted Clark to come back so she could see for herself that he was alright. She wanted him to bring Jordan home so that they could all be together on a day where she wasn't certain that would happen again.

"How long do you think it will take him to recover?"

"We can never tell an exact amount of time. Sometimes it takes a minute, sometimes it takes longer. Obviously, this one will take longer. He'll be back tonight, though. If he can't fly, then somebody will bring him over in a car, probably Ollie."

Nearly an hour later, Lois and Diana were still sitting in the living room, discussing the workings of the Justice League, when there was a sound at the door. When Clark walked into the apartment, Lois jumped up and ran over to him, flinging herself into his arms. From her glimpse of his face, she didn't think he looked particularly great, but well enough. She felt his arms come around her and this time she didn't wipe away the few tears that made their way down her face.

"I'm not good at waiting."

"I know."

"I'm not good at being scared and powerless, either."

"I know."

"I love you."

"I know."

Lois laughed for a second before she could reply. "Thank you, Han, but that's not the response I wanted."

"I know, and I love you too."

Lois pushed herself out of his embrace and swiped a tear off of her cheek before noticing Ollie was standing behind Clark. The years hadn't hurt his looks at all, and now he sported a goatee instead of the clean shaven look that was still ripe in her memory.

"Hey, Ollie."

"No tip necessary."

"What?"

"Last time I delivered something to you, I got a tip and was sent on my way. No tip necessary this time, though I will understand if you want me to leave."

Lois smiled and walked over to him, giving him a hug. When she'd woken up two weekends ago, this might have been really awkward for her. Now, even though she'd never though of herself as a hugging person, it felt like the right thing to do. "Thank you."

"Glad to be able to help. Saving his life this time means I only owe him about seventeen more."

After Lois and Clark both thanked Diana for being there, she and Ollie left and they were alone, standing in the living room. Lois didn't know what to say; it had been a long day, but the nap kept her from being too tired. She walked over to him and wrapped herself around him again, reassuring herself once more that he was here and whole.

"I don't think I've ever been that scared for another person in my life. It was overwhelming, not knowing where you were but knowing that you were in pain."

"How did you know I was hurt?"

Crap. She'd never told him about the bracelet, no matter when it had been or how much memory she had, and here she was letting things slip. Oh, to hell with it. Other people knew anyway.

"The, uh, the bracelet."

"What?"

"The bracelet. I knew you were alive but hurt through the bracelet."

"Ok, next question then: how?"

"It acts kind of like a conduit. When I put it on, I get part of what you're feeling. Be it love, happiness, whatever, I feel it through the bracelet. I put it on after I got home to see if you were even still alive, because of all the slow motion footage and no contact I was having some seriously worst case scenario thoughts. You were alive, of course, but I knew you were in pain because I started hurting all over and feeling sick."

"You felt the effects of the kryptonite."

Lois nodded into his chest, not wanting to move from where she was. Thinking about how she felt, about her thoughts... it was like she was reliving her nightmare all over again. Damn vivid thoughts.

"I'm sorry you had to feel that."

"I'm not. It told me you were alive. It was the best pain I ever felt."

For an answer, Clark leaned down and kissed her gently. She appreciated the tenderness, but she needed one last bit of reassurance, so she deepened the kiss, slipping her tongue onto his at her first chance. Soon, she felt him backing her up and they fell back on the couch, not missing a beat as they did so. She tossed his glasses away and pulled at his shirt as she felt him do the same. They lost them at the same time, Clark diving down to kiss her breasts.

She felt him take a nipple in his mouth, not even having realized that she'd lost her bra already, and she lost the battle against a moan the slipped out of her mouth. Once one had escaped, they kept coming as Clark switched from one breast to the other, taking the free nipple in his other hand and massaging it gently. She knew her breasts had been sensitive recently, but she'd never felt herself react so intensely to touch before, and she very quickly lost herself to an orgasm.

Pants were quickly lost on both sides and before she knew it, Clark was moving inside her. She met each stroke with a thrust of her hips instinctively, not even realizing she was doing it. Very quickly a passage from the diary entered her mind, talking about a sensitive spot of Clark's an inch below his earlobe. As they moved, she started working kisses along his jaw until she got to the spot she wanted. She kissed it once, then started sucking on it like the diary had mentioned, and Clark suddenly went into overdrive.

She knew it was just a second until she had another orgasm. She thought it funny that she realized it then went over the edge, unable to think any longer as she called out his name and felt her muscles contract. He wasn't far behind, and was soon burying his head in the crook of her neck as he finished. She wiped hair out of her face as she caught her breath, then felt Clark flip them over so that she was on top of him.

He pulled a blanket down on top of her, covering both of them in it. She didn't know where he'd gotten it, but she knew he'd moved because he wasn't inside her anymore. She sighed contentedly, her head on his chest, and closed her eyes as he placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. She felt the stress of the day finally melt off of her as she feel asleep in his arms.


	38. Chapter 38

---- Chapter 38

2/6/18

In what seems to be a common occurrence these days, Clark and I spent four hours tonight at the Wayne Manor. We're usually there longer, since it isn't exactly a skip and a hop away, but we have work tomorrow. It was for a good occasion, though, because we got to celebrate the fourth birthday of a very special young man tonight: one Jack Wayne, son of Bruce and Chloe Wayne.

When we got there, we walked into what can only be described as a wonderland of balloons, streamers and the like. It looked like we had stumbled into ground zero of a large party explosion. That would actually be an interesting way to decorate.

What had really happened was Chloe and Bruce hadn't bothered to take down all the decorations from the party for his friends the weekend before (it's currently Tuesday). I'm surprised that they could live without moving around all the junk in there, but I have to admit, it made things festive.

The Wayne Manor has certainly brightened since Chloe started living there, but that just means it went from dark to not as dark. They did all the decorating themselves while taking care of two month old twins, which is just a crazy notion since they could have hired somebody to do it for them. That they do those types of things themselves in such a huge place when they could avoid it is just another declaration of love for their son, though, in my mind.

Once we got past all the decorations walking in, Jack and his parents greeted us and we wished him a happy birthday. Clark and I both got a hug, and he got to our present right away. He's been very into baseball for a three (now four) year old, so Chloe suggested we get him a bat, which we did. He loved it, and Chloe said it went well with the glove that he got from them. I hope he gets to use it with his friends and show them that his 'Aunt Lo' gets him the best things. If Clark feels he should be mentioned as well, I guess that would be ok.

Martha sent along a present with us, which turned out to be a baseball signed by Jack's favorite player in MLB (and also the only name he knows from the league), a guy named Hunter Pence that plays for the Metropolis Monarchs. The woman is unbelievable when it comes to gifts (she got me the most gorgeous pen I've ever seen for my birthday last year, and then a collection of vinyl White Snake albums for Christmas) and I hope we can be half as thoughtful about it one day. Since my mind resets itself, the task falls to Clark (that's my story and I'm stickin' to it).

She also sent along baby clothes for Aly and Liz, which Chloe loved like crazy. Aly got a little yellow thing that Chloe thought was just the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. Then she looked at the little pink thing that Martha had sent for Liz, and she declared it was also the most adorable thing she'd ever seen. You can tell by the way I call them little things that I also thought they were the most adorable things I had ever seen.

Her only complaint was that they'd outgrow them before too long and she wouldn't get to see anybody wear them anymore unless she gave them to somebody else since she is officially done with the baby making business (apparently three is her limit). When she said that, I'd have sworn she was looking at me out of the corner of her eye. I don't think she was trying to be subtle about it, either. Sometimes I still don't give her enough credit for her investigative skills.

After unwrapping his presents, Jack had to try out his bat. Everybody went outside, including the bundled up twins, one of which hitched a ride with me. Bruce and Clark both tossed a few underhanded pitches to him while Chloe and I watched, each with a baby in hand. Had I not known any better, I would have sworn that we were in a 1950's TV show; the women were taking care of the young girls while the men played baseball with the boy. Then Aly spit up on me and any thoughts about 'idyllic' times were gone.

While I cleaned up, everybody else headed into the kitchen and got the cake set up with candles. When I got back with them, the song was sung and everybody enjoyed the baked good. It was _amazing_, and I haven't been eating much recently. Chloe bought it from some little bakery called Van Der Meer's. I got the address and phone number from her and plan on sending Clark for a cake run in the near future.

(Whenever you're reading this, I'm sure you'll be able to just mention the name of the bakery and he'll get it for you. Not that he's an errand boy, but an occasional cake retrieval won't hurt him.)

I still find it unbelievable that Chloe has a four year old son. I've known about him and gotten to know what a special kid he is ever since I woke up not knowing when or where I was, but I still find it hard to wrap my head around the fact that Chloe, my own personal Chloe, can have a son that is almost old enough to attend school. I think I need another year to come around and really get that Chloe has a four year old, and by that time he'll be five.

I can't win.

What's a girl to do, though? I guess she just has to roll with the punches, go where the wind takes her and all that ridiculousness that drives me nuts. I love my cousin (shouldn't I just call her my sister at this point), her husband and her children too much not to. For the record, though, which seems silly since you're me but I'm saying it anyway, I hate it when I have to roll with the punches. Too much rolling and I start getting dizzy.

But when it comes to my Chloe's offspring, I find myself willing to do pretty much anything for them. I know I don't love them like Chloe and Bruce do, not with that "overwhelming passion" Chloe described it as, which she also said was a poor description because it was hard to put into words, but I do love them a ton. I am in the odd position of finding myself head over heels with three young people, though, only one of which is even old enough to refer to me as 'Aunt Lo,' which for some reason I always enjoy hearing.

It's a little disconcerting to know that once removed cousins can tug on my heartstrings like they do.

I guess, when it comes right down to it, I shouldn't be all that surprised. How could I not love Chloe's children? These were the kids that I remember thinking would probably be the only children in my life (you know how I looked at us as a potential mother after Lucy). I had planned on spoiling them rotten until Chloe got sick of it and told me to stop.

Of course, I could have never have imagined that she would marry Bruce Wayne, the man with more money than I can imagine. As much as Chloe denies that they do not give their brood everything they could possibly want, I find that it's been very difficult for us to spoil the children of ridiculously rich people. I swear that I'm going to find a way, though. They deserve it.

It's a funny thought, though, thinking about kids that deserve to be spoiled. All kids deserve to be spoiled, really, but not a whole lot of them get to be.

It's just that children are such a strange topic. To use a funny quote from a great comedy, they're loud, you can't understand them... they're like tiny cab drivers.

Not that I have anything against cab drivers; they get me from point A to point B on a frequent basis. I enjoy the conversations, and when they recognize me from the paper they're almost always giddy about having a celebrity in the cab. Of course, anybody that thinks of me as a celebrity is a nut. I'm just a reporter that does her job well.

But, back on children... you know how it was. After finding out that you were married to Clark, I bet you thought back to when you figured that if you ever got married, it would just be something to get peopled off your back. It would be an avoidance technique against being set up on dates with your friends other single friends when you were forty, because if you weren't married then everyone else would probably try to remedy that for some reason.

Or maybe it would just be a way to keep from living by yourself until you died, finding a lovable loser that would love you no matter what because you were really hot and taking pity on him. Either way, there would very likely never be any children involved in it. What kid would deserve to be cursed with us for a mother?

And then the accident happened. It was a life changing event before the extent of our mental injuries even showed up. But the physical... I don't remember the physio, of course, but I do have the scars on my face and under my clothes as proof the attack happened. As you've probably noticed by having them on your own face (or seeing pictures, if they've come up with technology to erase scars), they're not exactly a turn on.

And then, there's the forgetting. There are a lot of scenario's that I imagined my life taking, especially once I figured out my love for journalism. Most of them included being the best journalist in the world. None of them included not being able to remember I was the best. I can't remember, of course, but after the first time I woke up without my memory I must have felt hopeless. The boyfriend left, not able to handle it, and it must have been a very Clarkish moment of brooding that I was going to end up alone, not even with the marriage of convenience later in life.

How we ended up finding a man that could love us in spite of the fact we won't remember that love, I'll never know. We are not exactly the most cuddly person in the world, as I hear told.

But this accident... I can't imagine what having a baby could be like, knowing that I am going to forget about him or her. What kind of life is that for a child? Sure, on the one hand you have Super Dad, which is the greatest thing a child could have. And on the other, you have the Amazing Forgetting Mom, able to lose any and all memories that happened after June 7th, 2008, children included, in a single night.

It kills me that I won't be able to remember Jack, Aly and Liz if or when I forget again. But when I think about a baby, a living part of me and more importantly Clark, that has a useless mother that can't remember it? It very literally brings tears to my eyes, and I hate crying.

Any child Clark and I have will be stuck with the fact that its mother won't get to remember it. This is on top of the fact that I would be a god awful mother, just god awful. What could I possibly offer a child? I could teach he or she how to question somebody so that they'll actually answer the questions you want answered, but I don't think that's something children really need to know until they're at least twelve.

I can't cook, so I wouldn't be useful there. I had to grow up so quickly after mom died that I don't even remember what it's like to play as a kid, ironic as it is that I forget something so simple from before the attack. I do remember raising Lucy as best I could, but given a choice that isn't something that I would pass on to any child.

I know you've probably figured it out by now, since my pen is rambling much like my mouth would if I were speaking: I'm pregnant. Plus, ya know, there's probably a kid running around somewhere and knowing when it was born, you've done some pretty simple math.

I haven't told Clark yet. He's probably going to be as happy as he's ever been to find out that's he's going to be a father. I want to be happy about this, because I see how happy Chloe is with her kids and, as unlikely as it seems, it makes me envious. I want that happiness. But I'm so worried, so overwhelmed by what could go wrong that I can't see the light, the happiness that I want.

I just don't think that motherhood is something I can do, no matter how much I want it (Jesus, I really want it). Toss me somewhere remote and I can survive; the General made sure of that. But put a life in my hands, a totally dependent little person, and make sure that it attains the skills it needs to be a good person? How do you even do that?

I think the only thing I have to offer this child is life and love, at least until I forget again. I hope it can be happy with what he or she gets.

Lois closed the diary and took a breath, not having realized she'd been holding it. It was so strange to read something that mirrored what she thought her own thoughts would be like if she found out she were pregnant for the first time. Well, she had found that out, in a way, but she'd had buffers against the self doubt. She was still finding herself doubting despite them at times. Years of self doubt was hard to kill in half of a month.

Lois ran a hand over the outside of the diary, thankful for the fact that she found it so soon after forgetting. It was an invaluable tool in adjusting herself to a new year, a new family and a new outlook on life. She had been happy in the past, but it had never been an unreserved happy: she'd always expected something to go wrong or had her gloomy outlook of what was coming in her life.

But now, she found herself in an unrestrained happiness. It was foreign, but she loved it. She knew that she was going to forget in the future, but she didn't let it loom over her. Instead, she focused on her husband, a man that loved her flaws as much as he loved her mind. She focused on her daughter, a person she never thought she'd know and couldn't imagine her life without now. And she focused on her son, the fetus she loved more than she'd ever thought she could.

The name Almond Joy really did fit him. At least, she thought that her unborn child was a him. After the vision of a little boy she'd had during a flight with Clark, which had been more vivid than any daydream she could remember, she just _knew_ that the baby inside her was a him. Was there such a thing as mother's intuition about an unborn baby?

Good lord, what was she going to do with a son? She had some long ago experience with Lucy to draw upon for raising Jordan, but her son, her little boy was going to be a completely new experience. To be realistic, any baby was going to be a new experience, at least to her. She'd had one and raised her to the age of three, as proven by Jordan existing currently, but since remembering it was an obstacle, this was going to be her first experience with everything.

Her first labor and delivery, her first diaper change, the first time her baby cried through the night... why were all these firsts things that sounded, painful, annoying and tiring?

Then she thought about the first time that her son would grip her finger, the first time that he would stop crying simply because he was in her arms and the first time he would smile. Those were the firsts she would hold in her heart, even when they weren't in her mind anymore.

She put the diary down and let both her hands rest on her stomach, then ran them over it as she felt the contours. It was yet another odd sensation in her life: she was smiling as she ran her hands over an ever expanding stomach that she was so used to working hard to keep flat.

But she didn't want it to be flat anymore. Right now (and she doubted it would last) she was happy that it was round and, for lack of a better word, protruding. It was proof, visual evidence that her son existed and was growing inside her. And there was another odd thought she couldn't believe she was used to: the fact that she was growing a person inside of herself. Seeing other women do it was just something she would run into from time to time. Actually doing it, and having a baby inside of her that she was now feeling move around...

Lois shook her head at the intensity of her thoughts and looked at a clock. It was just after six in the evening; they'd gone into work that morning like the previous day had just been another. She thought it was going to be something that she'd obsess about and not be able to get out of her head, but she was surprised at how when she concentrated on work and on her love for Clark, everything was alright.

They hadn't focused on the bomb too much. They'd theorized about who was behind it, and while it could be any number of people with a grudge against the mayor, Lex seemed to be the obvious choice. Maybe Sackett had been trying to distance himself from Lex, who knows, but not a whole lot of people have access to kryptonite and that kind of bomb technology.

Jordan had spent the previous night at the farm, as she and Martha had agreed to while Clark was missing, and so he was bringing her home for the first time in what felt like forever for Lois. She just wanted to pull her baby girl into a hug and never let go, knowing that those little arms wrapping around her neck would make everything else melt away.

All in all, it had been a surprisingly stress free day. Nothing too major at work, even when Superman had been needed. The emergencies had been minor, and thought during the first one Lois had started to think about Clark having another bomb with kryptonite hidden in it, when he'd returned a few minutes later her fears had been allayed.

Lois heard the door open and smiled. She pushed the diary under her pillow, stood up and walked out into the living room, where she found Jordan bouncing up and down about something. Her smile grew wider.

"Hey there, bouncy."

Jordan turned and vaulted into her arms, causing Lois to have to take a step back to keep from falling over. "Well, did you miss me or are you just having a jump into your mother's arms kind of day?"

Jordan looked at her, frowning. "The first one, I think."

"Doesn't matter." Lois pulled her up a little higher and hugged her a little tighter, getting the same in response. "How was the farm?"

"Fun, but I missed you. Why didn't daddy come get me yesterday?"

"Sometimes adults can't stop some things from happening and getting in the way, baby girl. If I have a choice, it'll never happen again and you'll spend every night with your parents." Lois lowered Jordan back onto her hip. "So, did daddy tell you what we're doing for dinner?"

She shook her head, and Lois looked to Clark. "Me either. I have a sneaking suspicion that he wants to surprise us with something we're going to object to, like nothing but vegetables." She stuck out her tongue at Jordan and her daughter did the same at her.

She looked over and watched Clark roll his eyes. "I would never do that, Lo, to you, our daughter or me. For your information, we're having oven roasted chicken with baked potatoes, green beans and rolls."

"That sounds great. Need some help?"

"Yes I do." He walked over to them and pulled Jordan away from her, smirking. "And now I have an assistant that will not give us all food poisoning."

"Oh, ha _ha_, Smallville. Can you even _get_ food poisoning?"

"I've never let you cook anything that would have the chance of doing so."

"_Let me?_"

"I don't mean it in the bossing around way. More of a beat you to the punch kind of thing, really. I don't mind making dinner and you're awful at making dinner, so things work out. Since you like home cooked meals and I was raised on the very definition of home cooking, things work out again. And the few times you try to cook, things usually end up inedibly OVER cooked, which, oddly enough, is also things working out."

Lois walked over and leaned on the breakfast bar separating the kitchen from the living room, smirking at him. "So, really, you've never been able to eat my cooking because I can't cook? You've never had the chance to get food poisoning from me."

"Remember, you gave yourself food poisoning when reheating a meal that I made after you'd eaten it two days before and been fine. It was sufficiently covered, and when I made Chloe some leftovers when she was in for a quick visit the day before you had some, there was no problem."

That was something Lois really wanted to remember so she could refute his theory that she was to blame for that, be it true or not.

"Fine, I get the point, I can't cook. It's a good thing it's 2021 and not 1951." She walked around into the kitchen and slapped him on the butt. "Now get to work, sweet cheeks."

Lois grabbed Jordan away from him again, smiling as she walked back out into the living room. She knew one thing would never change: she was always going to get the last word in.

"May I call him sweet cheeks too, mommy?"

As a groan came from the kitchen, Lois burst out laughing, hugging Jordan a little closer for a second. Maybe her baby girl was going to be the one getting the last word in from now on. One way or another it was a Lane woman, and that was alright with her.


	39. Chapter 39

---- Chapter 39

_"I've told you, Smallville, I'm awesome." _

_"Won't hear my argue the point, Lo." _

_"You still haven't earned that nickname." _

_Clark coughed through his smile. "Right, of course."_

---

"And that's how you got us out of the warehouse with me on your back before the fire engulfed us."

"Seriously?"

"You know it. Was quite the harrowing experience, and you still didn't know I was Superman at the time, so I had to try and hide the fact that I'd been taken out of commission by kryptonite. You thought I'd just been hit over the head with... I don't even remember what you thought it was."

Lois scratched at her neck, thinking about the story he'd just told her. Truth be told, she was always sure that she could get out of pretty much any situation she got into, but that one... wow. She'd impressed even herself with that escape, doubly so having to carry Clark. He could slouch all he wanted, but that didn't make him weigh any less.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm famished."

"I could go for some lunch."

"I think it's a nice restaurant kid of day. How about Stinson's for a dressy kind of lunch?"

"Whatever you want, Lo. I'll call Chloe."

Lois snapped her fingers, breaking out into a smile. "That's right! She's out here in Metropolis to do some work. What time was her plane getting into the airport?"

Clark looked at his watch. "About five minutes ago. She said that she'd call so that we could set up a place for lunch. Stinson's is still one of her favorites in Metropolis, so you'll only get praise out of her for the choice."

"Good, she still has taste. Sometimes with time, people stop liking things, and it just would have made me sad."

"No sadness necessary." Lois's phone started ringing, and she pulled it out of her pocket, finding it was Chloe calling. Smiling, she flipped open the phone.

"Hey there, cousin. How does Stinson's sound?"

"Like a dream, Lo. The twins decided that this morning was one where mommy didn't need to have breakfast because she was busy with them, so I'm a very hungry pregnant woman right now. And I'm really showing now, too. Not just kind of, but more like an in your face 'There's a baby in here!' declaration by my stomach."

"Welcome to my world. I like the visual evidence of my son existing, but really, I could do without the off balance stuff. I've tripped like three times today, and it's barely noon."

"Yeah, well, aside from already being more achy in my hips this time, it's still easier than when I was carrying the twins. The last seven months were one long stint of clumsiness that included me almost and actually falling over, knocking things over and just generally exploring all concepts of unintended physical comedy."

"Sounds enjoyable."

"Yeah, it was a blast. So, Stinson's in fifteen?"

"Yes, ma'am. See ya then."

Lois flipped her phone shut, grinning. "Let's hit it, Smallville."

Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in a booth munching on some breadsticks when Chloe walked up to them. Lois got up out of her seat and pulled her into a hug. When her stomach bumped into her cousin's, she rolled her eyes. Clark just sat back and laughed a second before chiming in.

"It's the pregnant woman's chest bump, now with no chest necessary."

"Ah, pregnancy humor," Chloe said while she looked at Lois. "I get it from Bruce too, believe it or not."

"It's funny... they get us pregnant..."

"This one was my idea, Lo."

"Ok, so Clark gets me pregnant..."

"Hey now, you started the whole thing by calling me Clarkie and then saying if something happened, you were ready to have another baby. Almond Joy is a barely planned venture on both our parts."

Lois spun around, eyebrows up near her hairline. "That's the first time you mentioned _that_ little statement of mine, Smallville. Didn't feel like sharing details previously?"

"Well, since you knew you'd forgotten when pregnant with Jordan, I didn't know if you were going to think that you were being careless about your amnesia. Also, I didn't think it mattered."

"Well, it doesn't, really, but I just like to know these things." Lois sat back down on the booth, scooting in so that she was next to Clark and Chloe sat down next to her. "Anything else you aren't telling me?"

Clark shook his head as he handed her a menu. "Not that I can think of."

"Good."

Thirty minutes later, they were all delving into their food. Lois and Chloe had both ended up with steak, which had sounded good to Clark as well so it had made ordering easy. Lois, of course, had been the first to speak, ordering for all of them, handing the waiter the menus and shooing him away so that he could get their orders in.

Lois scooped up a bite of the vegetables that came on the side, and after a quick smell, chomped on them with some fervor. She wiped at her mouth with her napkin as she finished chewing, and decided that the meal had become far too quiet.

"All right, so... who wants to tell me a story about the past."

Lois took another bite of steak and watched as Clark and Chloe exchanged looks, with Chloe finally shrugging and speaking. "I guess I can offer one, since Clark does most of the telling. How far along in things have you gotten?"

"The day Clark asked Bruce to buy the paper."

Chloe thought for a second. "Well, the next big event after that, I guess, was the first date, version two."

---

_Stretching, Chloe stepped out of the taxi she'd taken from the airport and walked up the steps to the apartment building. Smiling at the door man, she walked in without him saying anything to her. She figured Lois must have let him know she was coming. Either that or the place really needed a better door man. Why was that thought so familiar?_

_The ride up to her floor on the elevator was brisk, but had surprisingly good music going. She played air guitar along with Jimi Hendrix as All Along The Watchtower played, mouthing the words along with the song too. Yay for nobody else being in the elevator with her. The door opened and she got out, walking up to the door of Lois and Clark's apartment and knocking a couple times. Shaking off a felling of deja vu, she waited a moment, and was raising her hand to knock again when the door was flung open and she was pulled in by Lois._

"_Chloe, thank God you're here. I'm freaking out, and it's just..."_

"_Slow down, Lo. I can count on very few fingers the number of times you've freaked out, so what's going on?" Chloe kicked the door shut and sat her purse on the floor next to the door, again shaking off the feeling that she'd done this before._

"_It was just another day! I was minding my own business... well, getting into people's business because that is my business, but then I was blind sided! No warning, just a straight out of the blue whack upside my head. And I said yes! Why did I say yes?"_

_Ok, she KNEW that she'd heard Lois say that before, almost verbatim. This was like a freaking replay of the time Clark had asked Lois out for the first time... wait, what was today? Thinking about it, she realized that it was May 5__th__. Clark had asked her out on Cinco De Mayo. The man was asking for another incident!_

"_Ok, so, Clark asked you out, right?"_

_Lois spun around to face her. "How did you know?"_

"_Because your reaction? Basically identical to the last time Clark asked you out for a first date. Eerily similar, actually, including your wording." Running a hand through her hair, Chloe took a deep breath. "I gotta give Clark credit, though. It took guts to ask you out again."_

"_What? What the hell does that mean?"_

"_It means that you two went on the worst first date ever last time around. It led to awkwardness and you two barely speaking for months on end that I had to solve because I didn't want the tension around Jack."_

"_Ok, so that's like super evidence for why this should NOT happen."_

_Chloe guided Lois over to the couch, where they sat down. "No. You can't possibly have a first date that bad again. Also? You two got engaged the night you forgot, remember? I'm sure he's told you all this, but Clark was actually going to propose the next day, ring and all. You beat him to the punch and did the proposing at dinner that night, though, and..."_

"_I DID WHAT?"_

_Chloe winced. "Ok, guess he hadn't told you that yet. Good job, Chloe."_

"_I proposed to HIM?"_

"_Yes. Down on one knee and everything. So despite the fact that you two had the first date that could put people off dating for good, you ended up engaged, albeit it briefly."_

_Chloe watched as Lois chewed her lip, mulling it over. She knew that she needed to go in for the kill to convince Lois of this being a good thing. She didn't want Lois to go in so doubtful about it all that she sabotaged it and claimed it wasn't meant to be. She couldn't take another round of them not speaking to each other._

"_You two were special, Lois. You had a love that most people can only dream of. This isn't meant as bragging, but Bruce and I are really good together and love each other like crazy. You and Clark were such naturals together passed us quickly on being good together. Everything you two did was seamless; the way you moved from friends to a relationship and from separate apartments to living together was smoother than anybody else I've ever known. It just worked._

"_But more than all that, you found a man that would do anything for you. You found a man that loved you for you. I know that with the scarring you've probably thought that dating isn't something that would happen. I know it was the first time, and you actually kind of brooded about it. But Clark... he doesn't see the scars. He just see's Lois Lane, intrepid reporter, the woman he loves."_

_Lois stood up and started pacing, gesturing with her hands but not actually saying anything for a second._

"_That's the problem, Chloe. Clark already loves me. He's fallen in love with me once, lived with me and had sex with me. When I look at him, and God it hurts to say this about him because I know he doesn't do it on purpose, but I see expectations. I see hope in his eyes that I'll remember the feelings that I had. I see fear that he'll never regain what he once had with me. It's too much, Chloe."_

_Chloe stood up, and waiting a second, intercepted her cousins pacing. She grasped Lois's arms to keep her from escaping while she spoke. _

"_Not to take a side, but can you really blame him? After the love you guys had, which my description poorly captures since I'm a journalist and not a romance novelist, it's only natural for him to look at you like that. He and I talked when you were going to quit the Planet because I called your desk and you weren't there, and he was about ready to curl up in a ball and weep._

"_When it came right down to it, you'd broken up with him. He finally had the love of his life, and was going to marry her, then WHAM, it's yanked out of his grasp without so much as a hope of getting it back anytime soon. He didn't even get any closure because he lived with the woman that had loved him one day and couldn't remember any of it the next._

"_You, of course, have it the worst, losing your memory every two or three years; nobody will argue that. But Clark is a solid second this time, because he had to suck up his feelings real quick and try to help you adjust without piling expectations on you. I think he did a damn good job, and I'm a little shocked that he's been able to go this long without trying to win you back. I wonder if this even counts as winning you back since you didn't leave him purposely..."_

"_That is so not the point, Chlo."_

"_Right, sorry."_

_Lois pulled away from Chloe and sat down again, but after a second of fidgeting, was back up and pacing again. "It's just... it's a lot to live up to, ya know? I don't think most people are told that they had the perfect love, something most men and women apparently dream about, but can't remember it. What if I'm different? What if I don't react the same way to things and it causes him to not want to be with me?"_

"_Let me ask you a very simple question: how do you feel about Clark?"_

_Lois scoffed, crossing her arms as she stopped in front of Chloe. "That is far from simple."_

"_Forget everything that I've told you about the past and just focus on the here and now. How do you feel about Clark?"_

"_I, uh... he's my best friend. He's the person I tell all my secrets to, even if he's heard them before. He's someone that treats me like I'm the most special person he's ever known." Lois frowned. "Jesus, I think about it like that and I can't figure out why I'm stressing out over this."_

_Chloe pulled Lois into a hug, smiling from ear to ear. "By George, I think she's got it! Feel better about having said yes now?"_

"_Damn right I do. This... this could be something special. Something I never thought I'd have, especially not after waking up without seven and a half years of memories."_

_After that, they enjoyed some ice cream, eating it straight out of the carton with individual spoons. They were in the midst of conversation when a thought struck Chloe._

"_Lois, just a random question here. How do you feel about Superman?"_

_Her cousin went silent for a second, staring off into space before shaking her head a couple times. "Great guy. Has a thing for saving my life, I've noticed. Gorgeous like I've never seen before, too."_

_Chloe's shoulders slumped, and it must have been noticeable as Lois frowned. "What's with the posture change?"_

"_It's just... well, you were kind of in love with Superman last time around when Clark asked you out for the first time. It certainly didn't help things between you two, because when the date went poorly, you kind of got convinced that Superman was who you were meant to be with, and he had to turn you down too."_

"_Don't worry, Chlo. I don't love Superman, and any potential love I have is aimed straight at Clark, a man that wears decidedly fewer sets of tights."_

_Chloe laughed with her mouth closed, and realizing it, quickly made it seem as though she were coughing. _

"_You ok?"_

_She nodded. "Just fine. Swallowed funny."_

"_I didn't think you could swallow ice cream funny."_

"_I guess the image of Clark in tights just struck me as funny and prompted it."_

_Lois stared off into space again for a second before she chuckled. "Yeah, that is a pretty ridiculous thing to think about, isn't it?"_

_- - -_

Lois forked a piece of cake into her mouth. "How is it that I never see the whole secret identity thing?"

"Nobody does, unless they already know. I could tell Bruce was surprised when Clark and I told him, despite his insistence he had his suspicions. Then later that night, when it was just he and I, he admitted that Clark was very good at being the exact opposite of what people would expect, especially with his face in plain sight all the time."

"Every day. I was with him every single day and I never saw it. If he hadn't told me this time around I'd be in blissful ignorance again!"

"Blissful? You spent every waking moment trying to figure out who Superman was for about two months. You were in fairly annoyed you didn't know ignorance."

Lois finished off her cake, sitting back and resting her arms across her stomach. That sounded a lot more like her than the woman who just accepts that she gets saved by an alien and doesn't try to figure out who he is, if anybody, especially if she thought she loved him. She looked over to Clark.

"What are your thoughts on all this?"

"I was scared out of my mind that you would find out on your own, be hurt and then be angry. I did everything I could to keep the truth from you without ever actually lying to you. I hoped that if you did figure it out on your own, you wouldn't just... I don't know, disown me as a friend as I guess."

"And so you told me when it was apparent that thing were changing between you and I, not he and I."

"I didn't think you'd forgive me... haven't we been over this before?"

"Yes."

"Then I stand by my previous answers."

Lois smiled, sitting up. "Fair enough. We ready to blow this popsicle stand?"

Chloe scooted out towards the side of the booth. "We just have to pay, and I would like this lunch to be on me."

"No way, Chlo," Clark said. "You're in Metropolis, which means we get to pay for things."

"I also have a veritable mountain of money at my disposal. I've tried to not let having all the wealth at my disposal change me, but seriously, if I wanted to I could probably get a Scrooge McDuck swimming in his money thing going with all the coin I have at available. It makes paying for lunch very easy. Plus, you guys are in the process of buying a house! You wouldn't let me help with that, so at least let me buy lunch."

Lois watched as Chloe reached for the bill, which very suddenly disappeared. Both women looked over to Clark, who was already reading the total. Lois looked back to Chloe, suddenly realizing what she'd said.

"You wanted to buy us a _house_?"

"Again, mountain of money. And I wasn't going to buy it for you, technically. It was going to be a gift in honor of Almond Joy. It wouldn't have been a big deal, just a gift."

"And we appreciated the gesture, Chloe, but all lunches and houses to be purchased in Metropolis will be done so by us. Well, the houses we're going to live in, anyway. Feel free to buy your own house, though."

"How did you know about that?"

Clark looked up at her, confused. Lois felt the same way.

"How did I know about what?"

Chloe looked away, actually blushing in what Lois thought was embarrassment. She hadn't seen Chloe do something like that in all the time since the memory loss. She wanted to hear what this was about.

"Out with it, Chloe. AJ hates suspense."

Chloe smiled, then sighed. "It was supposed to be a surprise when you guys moved into your house. Bruce and I... a house came up for sale on your street, and Bruce knew that I've missed Metropolis for a while now, so he asked me if I wanted to have the option of spending more time here. It sounded great to me, and so... we bought a house four doors down from you."

"Really?"

"Really. We were going to move in quietly a couple weeks before you guys and surprise you. It's currently in the process of undergoing some renovations so that it's big enough for all of us, this new one included."

"Wait. What does this mean? How much time are you going to be spending here?"

"Well, let's just say that our children will be going to school together, once Jordan and the twins are old enough to go. Bruce will still spend a lot of time in Gotham, for obvious reasons, but I'll be here most of the time. It was his idea, and he says that he's fine with it, so I'm not going to complain. I get to come home again."

Lois pulled Chloe into a hug, grinning like a madwoman. "You have no idea how much I've missed seeing you every day."

"What are you going to do for a job?"

The cousins released each other and looked over to Clark, who was signing a receipt for the lunch. "I'm actually headed to The Daily Planet with you guys to finalize things with Perry. I asked him about my returning to the paper when Bruce and I decided to do this, and he was all for it. Said something about never having too many good reporters in this day and age."

"When do you start?"

"Tomorrow."

"Holy crap!" Lois pulled Chloe into a hug again. "My cousin's back, and the Chlo-Lo connection shall ride again!"

"Great. Not only have I been discarded, but I'm going to be saving you two on a daily basis again. The Chlo-Lo connection is going to give me gray hair."

Lois looked to Clark, smirking as they all got out of the booth. "You're going to have to save _us_?" She looked over to Chloe. "Have you ever heard the story of the time I carried him out of a burning warehouse on my back? It even surprised me at how cool I am in it, while saving_ him_." She looked pointedly at Clark, who just rolled his eyes.

"Can't say that I have."

"Well, there was this warehouse..."

---

"_I'm going down there, Clark. Are you coming or not?"_

_Clark rolled his eyes. Was she ever going to stop rushing into things? "Yes, Lois. Like I could ever let you run off to do something crazy without me."_


	40. Chapter 40

---- Chapter 40

**City Council Members Handing Out Contracts To Friends, Not Bidders**

Lois sat back in her chair, staring at the article she and Clark had written. It was a good article, and was going to hopefully clean up some things for the city, but they still hadn't found the evidence concretely linking Lex to it all. Sighing, she tossed the paper on her desk, looking across it to Clark, who looked similarly frustrated with taking the article to press.

Perry had, unfortunately, made some very good arguments about why the article was still going to do some good. After the article had come out that morning, three of the five councilmen they'd exposed had stepped down from their seats. The other two were still asserting innocence, but the city was now looking into them. Not that it really mattered; the mayor was just as bought and payed for as the dirty council members, they'd be replaced and Lex would buy influence again. He'd probably make sure the people in the seats could be bought.

Chloe walked up to them, standing at the junction of their desks with her arms crossed over her stomach. "You two look very... morose."

"Yeah, well, I don't know about Smallville but I always get morose when I can't link Lex to something he's almost obviously guilty of. Not that I can remember not linking Lex to something he's guilty of, since my memory ends a couple months after we linked him to arms smuggling, but you get my point."

"Since you two _have_ done my old and now new city some good by getting rid of some corruption, we're all going out to dinner tonight, my treat. Bruce and the children are flying in this afternoon, since it's Friday, and we'll do a big family dinner. Bring Martha back with you and Jordan, Clark."

"Sounds great, Chloe. Where should we go?"

"You let me worry about that. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a an article to research."

"What did Chief assign you?"

"A piece about the state of crime in the city. Perry wants me to analyze the recent crime statistics and do a comparative piece on where the stats have been the last few years. Depending on what I find, there might be speculation on where the stats say we're headed, who knows."

"Sounds like fun."

"Yeah, it's a regular party. I'll see you guys later."

The din of movement around them didn't allow for silence, but neither Lois nor Clark said anything for a few minutes. Lois just sat there, content to stroke her hand over her stomach softly as AJ decided to do his fluttering kick thing that was becoming more and more common.

"Lois!"

Shaking her head, she focused her eyes on Clark. "What?"

"Somebody is calling for help. I'll be back soon."

"All right, quit wasting time telling me and go!"

Watching him go, she waited for the inevitable yell from Perry. She'd been back at the Planet for two weeks now and it hadn't taken her longer than a couple hours to figure out that when Perry wanted something done, he was going to yell for it to get done. Apparently things happened more quickly for him when he yelled. Not three minutes later, the yell came.

"Lois! Clark!"

Standing up out of her chair, Lois walked over to Perry's office. "What's up, Chief?"

"Where's Clark?"

"Running an errand for a source meeting." Lying for his whereabouts really did seem to come naturally for her. "What's going on?"

"A house fire."

"You called me in for a house fire? I'm sorry for the family, but that's not really my usual thing."

"This house fire was that of councilman Murphy."

Lois came to attention with that information. That was one of the dirty councilors that had resigned earlier today, and the only one that had agreed to work with officials.

"This can't possibly be a coincidence then. Is he ok?"

"He's being treated for smoke inhalation, but should be fine. I want you down there getting the story pronto."

Forty-five minutes later, Lois was standing in front of a smoldering house, trying to get quotes from people that didn't feel like giving them. She walked up to one of the arson investigators, standing next to him as he read a file.

"Reading something interesting?"

"No comment, Lane."

"You know as well as I do that this was arson. Clark and I just exposed this guy as dirty this morning, he agrees to work with officials and hours later his house is on fire with him inside it? That's a whole lot of coincidence I'm not buying into."

He turned and faced her, shutting the file as he did so. "Fine, you want something for your article? We're currently investigating the cause of this fire and will make findings public as soon as we know something."

He walked off and Lois scowled, shoving her recorder back in her pocket. Apparently this was not going to be a day where people wanted to talk about things.

"Hey, Lois!"

Turning her head, she spotted Clark jogging up to her. She threw him a smile before looking at the house again.

"Been getting anything good?"

"Not really, no."

"Been getting anything at all?"

"Not really, no."

They stayed a little while longer, doing their best to get anything but finally headed back to work after exhausting their options. When they got back, they wrote up the article with the information they had and turned it in to Perry for the evening edition. After that, they went and sat with Chloe in her office. Lois was seriously considering lobbying for an office for her and Clark after finding out Chloe got one all to herself.

"None of the others are going to utter a word to anybody now, are they."

Chloe sat down the statistics she'd been going through on her desk, raising her arms above her head and stretching. "If they do, they're a lot braver than anybody gives them credit for."

"Of course, since this is in all likelihood Lex we're dealing with, I'm not shocked this happened. Anybody and everybody is disposable to him, because he can always find a replacement." She paused for a second. "Chloe, how are your hacking skills these days."

"Workable. Not what they used to be, but I can still get around a lot of things. Why?"

"Think you could hack into the Metropolis PD systems to get anything they have on this? Not right now, of course, since it happened earlier today, but maybe sometime this weekend or Monday?"

"I can try. Will probably be more difficult than the Gotham PD since they hardly bother with securing their networks, but I'm willing to give it a shot. If you guys don't mind watching the kids for a while I'll get Bruce to help me out."

"Sounds like a plan."

They sat in silence for a few minutes when Lois realized Clark hadn't said anything in a while. She looked over at him, and he had the faraway look in his eyes he got when somebody was in trouble but he wasn't rushing to fly off.

"What are you doing, Clark?"

He blinked a couple times and focused in on her. "What?"

"Doing, as in what were you?"

"I was listening."

She leaned forward, waiting for him to finish his sentence but he didn't seem to want to. "To what, Smallville?"

"It's not the most honest thing I've ever done, but they're questioning Murphy and I wanted to see if he was actually going to say anything. I wouldn't use any of it for an article, but it'd be good to know."

"How did you even know when he was being questioned?"

He shrugged. "I've been keeping an ear on him ever since they took him to the hospital, just in case Lex tried to kill him again. I didn't tune out the questioning because... well, because I thought it could be useful."

"Of course it's useful! God, when you're a journalist everything is useful! How have you not picked this up in all our years of partnership?"

"Honestly, you usually do the snooping and I just make sure you don't get us caught."

Rolling her eyes, she couldn't argue with the fact that what he said made a lot of sense. He was like the ultimate watchdog: he could hear a person coming for miles, not to mention see them through other parts of the building. Plus, she really liked going through other people's files. Finding the evidence always made her almost as happy as actually getting the story out.

"Well then, hear anything useful?"

"No. Murphy's shut up like a clam. The only time he opened his mouth was to cough."

"That's... not useful at all. Keep doing it, though."

"I'm not going to keep spying on the man, Lois. He's being taken to a safe house, so he's being protected now."

"Well, at least we know the police think it was arson as well."

"Maybe they just want to give him a place to stay."

"If they thought it was just a normal house fire, they wouldn't be taking him to a safe house. They definitely wouldn't be questioning him about anything. That means they think that somebody torched his house, and we know that it was Lex that had the torching done. Let me guess... they asked him about the allegations against him and if he had any enemies."

"Yeah, but..."

"When he was silent after that, the questioner went into a spiel about how if he talked to them, they could keep him safe from whoever it was that didn't want him around and would make sure that justice was served."

Clark eyed her for a second. "You sound like you've heard this talk before."

"I have, but that's another story for another time. Plus, the speech isn't hard to figure out. Doesn't really matter who's saying it, it all boils down to the same thing: if you talk, they'll keep you safe."

Lois looked over at Chloe, who seemed to have picked up Clark's silence once he'd started speaking. She was reading the statistics again, frowning as she did so.

"Do you want us to go, Chloe? We can leave you to read in peace, since this is your office."

She looked up from her papers and looked like she was about to say something but when she opened her mouth she yawned. After a second, she spoke.

"No, I prefer you guys here. I don't have a stereo here to have any music to read by, which probably isn't all that professional, but what can I say, it helps. You guys are keeping my ears occupied while I read, because if I read these papers in silence I would fall asleep before getting through two pages." She looked up at them and sighed with a smile on her lips.

"The one thing I am going to miss in my office is all the noise of the bullpen when I have my door closed. It kept me energized. I didn't even really want an office, but Perry said he didn't have any desks out there and I deserved an office anyway. It's just too quiet in here." She stopped, apparently thinking about what she'd just said, and then laid her head down on her desk.

"I can't believe I just said that. I have three children who wouldn't know silence if it hit them in the ears, and I only manage to hear it when I'm falling asleep at night every now and again. Yet here I am, sitting in my office complaining about the fact that I can't feed off the sound and energy of the bullpen because I'm secluded in a big, quiet office. I must be sick."

"I think you just love your kids, Chloe," Clark said. "I think that you enjoy all the sound they make... well, most of the time. It lets you know where they are and that they're ok. If they were quiet all the time, they wouldn't really be kids."

Chloe lifted her head up and smiled at him. "When you put it that way, I sound like a loving mother instead of an insane woman that hates quiet. Thank you." She looked down at herself and shook her head. "I can't believe I'm having another baby. I guess I certainly won't have to worry about silence at home for a good long time unless all my children mature to be like their father. That seems unlikely."

"You can't believe you're having _another_? I can't believe I'm having one _at all_."

"Need I remind you that you're gestating your second?"

"How could I forget? I have a three year old that looks just like her father but acts just like her mother running around the world. I'm a little scared for the next generation because I would have sworn somebody told me they broke the mold after I was born."

Chloe laughed, sitting back in her chair again. "Oh, they did. The mold for Jordan is similar, but not the same. I mean, this is going to sound dirty, but you literally molded her after yourself with an injection from Clark to change her looks."

Lois grinned. "Yeah, that does sound dirty. Funny, too."

"I'm not surprised, though, because I don't think you could have a daughter that wasn't like you. And saying that, since you are convinced you're having a boy, I am convinced he is going to be just like Clark."

"Really? Why?"

"I think that it's the way you two AND your genes interact. You two are really very similar, you just have different thought processes. You, Lois, have the aggressive go get it streak where as Clark has the calm, thought out thing going on. Each has its merits. You can both be the way the other is, too, but I think it depends on how you see the world. Each of you see life as a challenge to be yourself.

"When you were little, Clark, you had two parents that had to hide you and be conservative in their actions so they could fly under the radar. You learned that behavior, and I really wish I knew you biological parents so that I could actually use your genes in it. I guess that will have to do, though.

"Now, when it comes to Lois, my dear cousin, I can analyze behavior learned and inherited. From what I know and remember about aunt Ellen, she was a lot like Lois, but less... I guess I'll go back to aggressive, and I think if she had lived, Lois would be less aggressive than she is. Uncle Sam, though, raised her like a soldier once aunt Ellen died, and I think the back and forth between falling into line and rebelling against him gave us the Lois we see. There was only the influence of a hard line as she grew up; the example of an adult she saw every day was an aggressive, take no bull go get 'em soldier."

"Huh."

Both the women looked over to Clark, who looked skeptical. "You don't sound like you believe her, Smallville."

"Oh, I believe every word Chloe said about any daughter of yours being like you. I've known that was a forgone conclusion since the moment you told me you were pregnant and I wondered if we were having a boy or a girl. But I also think that if we are having a son, he's going to be just like you, Lois. Jack is prime evidence of what I bet we can expect.

"I think, as a child, we look to the loudest voice we hear. It's only natural, because as a kid you're attracted to the thing that makes you the most curious and holds your attention. What held Jack's attention as a baby was his mother, who was the first and last one with him every day. She was also the more forceful of his two parents in every day life, so he heard the strong voice more.

"This is not to say it's not genetics, but I think you helped make my point for me by telling how Lois was shaped by her father. She lost the maternal influence that was so strong in her life before that, and when her mother died I think that brought Sam around to his fall in line techniques. Where once she'd been able to be herself, she now had to change.

"Ellen had been the one that knew all their fears and favorites, not him, so he did what he knew how to do and trained soldiers. When there is one voice above the rest, that's what the child reacts to, and it's why I think our son will be more like Lois when we really see his personality."

Lois had listened intently to both of them talk this through, yet she still had no idea where she fell on the issue. Since they had both spoken on the issue, though, she figured she may as well chime in.

"I think you both have valid points. Hell, I think you're both good examples of nature and nurture. Nurture, of course, in Clark, because of being raised by the Kent's. And nature, in you Chloe, because you grew up without your mom for almost as long as I did, but because uncle Gabe was never an in your face kind of guy, you were allowed to be you and didn't get changed at all.

"I think, first, when it comes to your children Chloe, we're only operating with half the story. We know what Bruce was like up until he was about Jack's age, before his parents were murdered and he became a different person. Therefore, we get into uncharted territory at some point and things we may recognize as traits inherited from you may very well be traits inherited from Bruce we don't think of. Maybe Bruce would have grown to be who he is on his own, but we don't know.

"Now, as strange as it is, when I think about Jordan I see a perfect example of letting her become who she is on her own, but being similar anyway. I see her with fresh eyes, though, and what I see is a little girl can totally ignore what's going on around her without being in the dark about it. The day after I forgot, we were all sitting on the couch and Clark and I were talking about things related to my memory loss, like we had all weekend. Out of the blue, she asks me why I'm asking daddy so many questions.

"It was something she needed to know and in that, I do kind of see myself. While it could just be her being three, one thing I know about my childhood is that I asked a lot of questions about things. She wants to know why something is going on, and is going to ask about it. She is never want for curiosity. Now, that's not to say it isn't a normal childhood thing to ask questions, but she was more observant than we gave her credit for because she knew something was off. Once I explained the situation to her, she accepted it and went to sleep. In that, I see a lot of Clark."

"I don't know whether to take that as a compliment or an insult."

"It's not meant as either. Again, it could be her being three, but I say it because when I say I asked a lot of questions as a kid, I meant it. When something was explained to me, I wanted to know why the explanation worked. I would bet money on you accepting what you were told as the truth of it with a smile. Now, yes, she is three so she might be a little young for the inquisition tactics I had when I was a couple years older, which is my basis of comparison. But, she's also kind of advanced from what I've seen. I may be biased as her mother, though."

She looked to Chloe, who just shrugged as if to say she felt the same way about all of her kids.

"Really, though, what it all boils down to is that all our children are going to be who they are meant to be. I don't say that to mean it's fated, I just mean they'll be who they want or need to be. No matter what happens, we are all who we are because of our natural predilections and how we react to what has happened in our life. Nature and nurture." Lois shrugged. "That's just how we work."

They fell into a thoughtful silence for a moment when somebody cleared his voice from the doorway. They all looked over to find Perry looking in at them, an eyebrow raised.

"You three always had interesting conversations when you two worked here and Clark was hanging around to make sure you didn't jump into anything you couldn't get out of, too. Somehow these conversations always seem to happen during the day, though, instead of after work."

He looked to Lois, smiling a little bit but not lowering his eyebrow any. "I'm going to go out on a limb and say that you're envious of Chloe having an office, Lois. Fortunately for you, Johnson in the corner office next door is leaving for a cushy assistant editor spot with a paper in Miami, so you and Clark get it."

Lois's face lit up. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. Sullivan... or should I call you Wayne now?"

"My byline still reads Chloe Sullivan, but I like to hear Wayne, so call me whatever you want."

"Alright. Chloe, how are the stats looking?"

"Like a lot of numbers. I'm going to whittle this down over the weekend to the major points and try to get the same done for the last few years. I hope to have the piece done by a week from today, but when are you wanting it?"

"If you can have it done that quickly, I'd be thrilled. I was prepared to give you a couple weeks. Now, it is three thirty in the afternoon. How about you folks get some work done and save the interesting but totally work free chatter for later? Oh, and if the kid in you isn't just like you, Lois, I'll be shocked. Sorry, Clark, but I think her genes are probably just as dominant as she is."

With that, Perry walked off. Clark stood up and offered Lois a hand to help her out of her chair, but she just got up on her own. "Not so big I can't get up on my own yet, Smallville. Chloe, we'll get out of your hair."

As they were walking out, she turned back for a second. "Hey, you haven't told us what the plan is for dinner yet. Where are we going?"

"Pizza Party Palace?"

Lois looked around the place they were in, which was abuzz with the voices and laughter of children playing on any number of things around the building. She observed at least four different play area sections, with the eating area in the middle of it all.

"Ok, maybe it's just me assuming, but when you said you wanted to take everybody out to dinner I didn't think you meant you wanted to take us to a place where kids reign supreme, at least according to the banner up there."

"Yeah, this wasn't my first choice either, cuz. I los track of time this afternoon, though, when I was originally going to set something up and apparently a lot of places like to have longer notice for a party of nine. This was the only place that didn't require us to wait hours on end for enough seating to open up at together at one time."

Lois crossed her arms, observing everything that was going on. "Does this place at least have good pizza?"

"Surprisingly, yes."

"I guess I'm sold then, especially since it's all you can eat."

Twenty minutes later, most of the adults were sitting down, eating and conversing when Clark walked back to their table. "Sorry about that guys, but... hey, where'd my food go?"

"Smallville, you left a full plate next to your insatiable pregnant wife. Eating yours meant I didn't have to get up and avoid running children there and back."

"I was only gone for ten minutes, Lo, and you had a full plate."

"Your insatiable cousin-in-law may have helped me."

"Thanks, Lo."

"Please, like Clark can ever stay mad at you. When was the last time you two didn't speak to each other purposely?"

"Good point." Lois watched Chloe grin up at Clark. "Sorry."

Lois looked up at Clark again, who looked back down at her with arms crossed in what she thought was a pose all too similar to Superman. Standing up, and stood on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his cheek.

"I'm sorry we ate all your food. As a gesture of good will, I'll go with you to get more."

"I need more than a gesture. I think I need a nice, long bit of good will right on my lips."

Lois rolled her eyes through a smile, then pulled him down softly, slowly kissing him right where he wanted to be kissed. A moment later, she pulled away just as softly and slowly as when she'd gone in. "How's that for good will?"

"That is great will, Lo. Awesome, even."

"Yeah, I thought so too."

The rest of dinner passed quickly, with everybody going separate ways once it was done. The Wayne's were staying in a hotel penthouse downtown until the renovations on the house got done, so they went that way while Clark flew Martha home and Lois took Jordan home in a cab.

Clark got home a few minutes after they did, putting Jordan down for the night not long after. They watched some television, but Lois found herself yawning every couple minutes and decided that she'd had enough for one day.

"I'm beat. Ready for bed?"

Clark nodded and got up, offering her a hand she accepted this time and pulled her up. They were both soon in pajamas and laying in bed. After another yawn, Lois snuggled her head into Clark's chest.

"I'm really glad Chloe's back. It wasn't the same without her around."

"I'm glad too, Lo." He turned his head, placing a kiss on hers. "Love you."

"Love you too, Clark. See ya in the morning."


	41. Chapter 41

---- Chapter 41

"When did you tell me that you were Superman again?"

Lois watched Clark turn around, looking confused. "What?"

"The last thing I heard about the past is the second time I freaked out about you asking me out for the first time. I assume that it happened, and you had to tell me you were Superman at some point. I'd like to know how I reacted."

Clark sat the book down the he had been reading. Lois looked over to Jordan, who'd been sitting on the floor with her reading some children's books, running a hand over her head lightly before looking back up to Clark. It had been a lazy Saturday for all of them, with Clark not having to make too many trips out as Superman.

"Mommy?"

Lois looked down again, finding Jordan looking up at her. "What's up, baby girl?"

"I wanna tell you a story."

"Do you now?" Lois grinned, hoisting Jordan onto her shrinking lap. "What story do you want to tell me?"

---

_Jordan picked up her blue crayon. Blue was her favorite color because daddy wore blue when he helped people. Looking down, she turned her coloring book so that the top was closer to her. Mommy would always tell her how big she was getting, but she never felt big. She couldn't reach things._

_As she colored her picture, she could hear mommy and daddy talking. They told her that it wasn't polite to be loud, but mommy was always loud. Jordan liked her voice, though, so she didn't mind._

"_When I said I was ready for another baby I didn't actually think it was going to happen that time! It takes most people months, and we get it in one shot." She started laughing, but it didn't sound like her normal laugh. "We picked a hell of a thing to be good at." _

_After she said that, mommy went quiet for a second. Jordan listened hard while she colored, liking the sound of the voices. She didn't like quiet because it was boring. When mommy spoke again, she sounded less happy than usual. _

"_Last time I was pregnant, I lost my memory. Fortunately, that was also the last time I forgot. It was... what? Three and a half years ago?"_

"_Three years, six months, eight days. Your second longest and counting." _

"_Sounds right. So, yeah... my time was probably limited anyway."_

_Jordan heard footsteps and looked up, watching as mommy and daddy walked out from their room. She had her arms crossed and looked sad. Daddy caught up to her and hugged her from behind, resting his head on hers._

"_If it has to happen, Smallville, this is the best reason for it. Losing my memory because of a baby... I'd rather it be that instead of just a random loss. This makes it all seem a whole lot less pointless." She turned around in his arms. "I love you. Even when I don't remember, I love you and just haven't figured it out yet. When it happens... remember that."_

"_I know. I wish..." He sighed and kissed her shoulder. "If it makes you feel better, I enjoy brining you around to that conclusion, as hard as it can be to see you so lost."_

_Mommy laughed, then looked over and saw her sitting and coloring. Jordan smiled, and mommy smiled back at her, wiping a tear from her cheek. She walked over and scooped her up into a hug. Jordan wrapped her arms around mommy's neck, hugging her back._

"_I love you, baby girl. No matter what, no matter when and in spite of everything else in the world, you are my daughter, and I love you more than anything."_

"_I love you too, mommy."_

_- - -_

"And then after that, we had a big dinner at a restaurant. You said you wanted to enjoy as many meals as you could before the morning sickness started kicking in. I think that happened a few days later, because that's when you told me you weren't feeling very good because of the baby."

Lois could only stare at her daughter. How the hell did she remember something like that? She was three! Yeah, it was only a few months ago, but still... three!

"Jordan, how do you remember that?"

"You and daddy told me you think I have a phonogiraphic memory."

"Photographic, Jordan."

"That's what I said, daddy!"

Lois rubbed at her forehead. "When I asked you on Wednesday if you had anything else you wanted to tell me, Clark, this would have been a good thing to mention. I would have liked to have known that my daughter had a photographic memory before now."

"Well, when you were asking me if there was anything else I should be telling you, I was thinking more along the lines of Almond Joy, since we were discussing events surrounding his conception."

"Well, when in doubt, tell me everything." Lois looked down at Jordan before leaning over and planting a kiss on top of her head and letting her down off of her lap. "I prefer to know too much rather than too little. Knowing too little is what I have to deal with every day."

"I know, and I'm sorry. I'll be as forthcoming as I can from now on."

Lois stared at the blank television for a moment, thinking about the story Jordan had just told. "When exactly did that conversation happen?"

"September 23rd."

"Guess if we're doing things in order, that story isn't happening for a while."

"I can tell it now, if you want me to."

"No, that's ok. Hearing things in order doesn't allow for them to get jumbled up as easily in my head. That said, when did you tell me you were Superman after my second memory loss?"

- - -

_Clark took a deep breath in and breathed out slowly through his nose, straightening his tie as he walked up to the apartment door. After being with Lois for a year and a half, a night out with her didn't seem TOO daunting, not like it had the last time they'd had a first date. He drew loads of confidence from the fact that he couldn't screw up as badly if he tried._

_He raised his hand up and knocked on the apartment door, hearing a shuffling inside which made him smile. Knowing Lois, all she had on was her pants and a bra at the moment. The thought really made him want to look inside and see if he could catch a glimpse, but he held back. He'd promised himself that he wouldn't look at her in any clothes she didn't intend him to see, and he certainly wouldn't look at her without clothes. That could only lead to yearning and uncomfortably tight pants._

"_Two minutes, Smallville! And for crying out loud, just come in! You didn't need to leave and come back to act like this was an actual first date!"_

_Clark smiled and walked in to find Lois buttoning up her shirt as she walked across the apartment. It looked new, which made him smile a little wider. He hoped it meant she'd put thought into it. "I was just trying to create a date atmosphere, Lo... Lois."_

"_About time you started catching yourself doing that."_

"_It wasn't something I had to think about for a while, so it took me four months to remember how to." He shrugged. "Guess I've never been the fastest learner when it comes to Lois Lane, even if it is just the fact that you have to earn the use of Lo, unless..."_

"_Unless you're family."_

_He watched her slip into a pair of heels, ones he hadn't seen before. He didn't keep track of her shoes, per se, but he just knew most of them by sight at this point and was surprised when she wore something he didn't recognize, be it shirt or shoes. She'd never been one to go get something new every month._

"_When did you get the shirt and shoes?"_

"_Last night. Chloe came over, we did some talking and then went and got me a new clothes to wear. Her idea, not mine."_

_Clark deflated a little inside. Maybe she hadn't put much thought into it after all._

"_I'm not against new clothes, and these are great, but I didn't really see the point. During our actual first date back when I don't remember, it seems like we tried to be people going out on a date instead of just being ourselves. I mean, first dates are basically interviews. There were extenuating circumstances at points, like when the waiter dumped food all over me, but we knew everything about each other already, so the uncomfortable silences didn't have anything to be filled by."_

"_That's an interesting way of looking at it. To tell the truth, you and I never really spoke about that date much because it spawned such an abysmal time between the two of us. But yeah, I think you're right on about not being ourselves."_

"_Of course I'm right, Smallville. Don't sound so surprised. So, how do I look?"_

_Clark smiled as he drank the sight of her in. She was... "Stunning."_

"_That's what I like to hear. Let's get this show on the road."_

_Fifteen minutes later, they were walking up to a greasy dive. He looked at her out of the corner of his eye, and it looked like she was trying to suppress a smile. "On our last first date, I tried to be fancy. Obviously, it didn't work, and I've never been mistaken for somebody that enjoys a high priced yet small meal. This place gives big portions of food for good prices, and it's more our style."_

"_You're damn right it is. I feel a little over dressed, now, but I think I'll live."_

_He held the door open for her, smiling as she walked inside and took a seat on one of the stools right in front of the grill. He sat down next to her as a frazzled looking woman placed menus in front of them._

"_Drinks?"_

_Lois answered first. "Coke, if you have it. Sprite, if you don't."_

_The waitress looked to him. "Water, please."_

_She went and got their drinks, bringing back the coke Lois originally asked for. Clark watched as the drinks were put in front of them, happy when neither was spilled and Lois's was on the other side of her where he couldn't tip it over. _

"_Let me know when you're ready to order."_

_Clark nodded and opened up the menu, which consisted of various grilled meats covered with cheese between two slices of bread. It was like somebody had plucked it out of Lois's dreams, because all meat with cheese between bread was her first choice usually if she couldn't get Chinese._

"_How have we not been here before, Smallville? If the food is good, this place is my new favorite." He smiled and looked over at her to be greeted by a pair of eyes full of mirth. "How did you even find out about this hole?"_

_He knew it was a term of respect for the place. In her mind, a good hole in the wall was better than any place that charged fifteen bucks for a steak. "I actually asked Bobby Bigmouth about the best greasy dives in Metropolis. The other few I already knew of, but this one was new to me and his favorite. Figured it was worth a try."_

"_Yeah, it really is." She paused a second, just looking at him. He did his best to keep his eyes matched with hers. "I'm really glad we're doing this, Smallville."_

"_Me too, Lois." _

_Smiling, they held each other's gaze a moment longer before Lois looked away to flag down the waitress. Ten minutes later, they were both eating cheeseburgers and agreeing with Bobby about how good the place was. Clark was almost done with his food and about to say something to her when he heard a cry for help downtown. Frowning, he stood up, trying to think of an excuse to tell her. He didn't want to lie to her anymore, but... but what? What was stopping him? _

_He placed a hand on her shoulder to pull her attention away from the food. She looked at him, frowning when she saw that he was standing. _

"_What's going on?"_

"_I have to go. There's... something I need to do." Clark pulled a fifty out of his pocket and sat it on the counter. "This should cover dinner and the cab ride home. I'll explain this to you there, ok?"_

"_Yeah, ok."_

_Not thinking, he kissed her on the forehead and bolted out the door, darting into an alley and after a quick change of attire took off. There was a three car pile up downtown that he cleared up, taking a couple people to the hospital and putting out a fire before it could do any harm to anyone or anything in the area._

_After making sure the people at the hospital were going to be ok, he flew back towards his apartment and landed in the nearest alley. He made his way into the building and up to the apartment, finding Lois sitting on the couch listening to White Snake. _

"_Lois?"_

_She looked up and saw him, turning off the music and leaning back into the couch. "So, what's going on? Most dates going as well as the one we were on tonight don't end with the guy running out for no apparent reason."_

"_And like I said, I wanted to explain."_

"_Good, because I was really enjoying myself."_

"_I was too. And, as you may have noticed since you forgot, I have a tendency to be forgetful and have to run off to do things or get things."_

_Lois smirked, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I have noted your tendency to misplace your wallet and keys, yes." _

"_Well, there's a reason for that. But, it's not because I'm forgetful. It's because I'm usually needed and have to figure out a way to get out of where I am quickly."_

"_That's cryptic."_

"_Not as much as you think. Really, I've wanted to tell you this for a while, because it's something you forgot. I hate having to hide a part of myself from you, but with everything going on, I didn't want to overwhelm you. It was just hard to know where to draw the line, so I decided to err on the side of caution and poor excuses."_

_Clark took a deep breath, feeling more nervous than he thought he should. She'd handled it so well the first time, aside from looking so hurt that it would have haunted him had they not gotten together, maybe lightning would strike twice._

"_I'm Superman."_

_He watched as Lois broke out into laughter. Not the reaction he was expecting, but not one he was surprised by. "And I'm Wonder Woman, nice to meet you. Seriously, Clark, you got all serious to pull a joke on me?"_

"_I'm not joking."_

"_Yes, you are."_

"_You can ask Chloe, if you want."_

_She raised an eyebrow, then started digging around until she found her phone. He watched her dial Chloe's number, smiling at her as she looked at him like she was about to burst his bubble._

"_Chloe, hey! Yeah, no, I have a joke I want to tell you. So Clark and I are out on our date, eating at some greasy joint... yeah, he decided on that instead. Anyway, he has to leave in the middle of it, just runs off and says he'll explain at home. So I get back here and wait a few minutes until he walks in. He then, and I can't believe he thought I would buy this, told me that he's Superman. Yes, he really... what? No, there's no way..."_

_Lois looked up at him. "I'll talk to you later, Chloe." She stood up, closed her phone and tossed it on the couch._

"_Fly for me."_

_Clark looked at her a second then granted her request, hovering up until his head was a couple inches from the ceiling. Her eyes went wide and she took a couple steps back. Clark lowered himself down again._

"_Holy shit! You weren't joking!"_

"_No."_

"_But... what... you're from another planet?"_

_Clark nodded. "I landed in Smallville as a very young child where the Kent's, where my parents found me. The first meteor shower was remnants of Krypton. The second, too, but that's another story."_

_Lois thumped back down onto the couch. "Why didn't you tell me before? It's not like I was going to give you up to the government."_

"_I know. Like I said, I didn't want to overwhelm you, and this is pretty big news."_

"_No kidding." She looked up at him. "I appreciate the gesture, but you didn't have to wait four months. You could have told me after one or two and I would have been fine."_

"_If it makes you feel any better, I'm telling you months sooner than I did last time and without having to before we got too far into... something."_

_Lois stood up, eyes wide. "That does not make me feel better! All I get from that is the fact that you only told me last time because you knew you would get your ass kicked by me if you didn't! And yes, I would have found a way to kick your ass, with or without kryptonite."_

_Clark cringed, but apparently the shock was wearing off and the anger was here._

"_I can't believe you, Smallville! You act like this is the worst secret ever kept, and yeah, I do not appreciate being lied to but it's not like you killed somebody. This is something you could have trusted me with. What did you think I was going to do, print an article about how Clark Kent is Superman? Everybody would think I was three kinds of insane!"_

"_So..."_

"_Ho no, I'm not done talking yet. You're going to sit your ass down and listen to every damn word I have to say!" She looked like she wanted to keep going, but after a minute of not saying anything frowned. "Ok, so I can't really think of anything else to say at the moment that wouldn't sound redundant. I think I've covered it all with the not believing and not feeling better about things. But I am still angry, damn it!"_

"_You are a lot more angry this time than last, it seems. Last time... last time you were hurt."_

"_I'm not entirely unscathed this time either, Smallville. Tell me about last time."_

_He told her the story, about the whole day of the Cinco de Mayo Incident. He wasn't surprised that she liked the name, since she'd enjoyed it so much the first time around. By the time the story ended, they were both sitting on the couch, Lois on one end and he on the other. She was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, staring at the ground._

"_Yeah,," she finally said after he finished, "last time there was more hurt than this time. I'm sure there was plenty of angry then too, but it got overwhelmed by her... by me caring for you."_

_They sat in silence for a little while, Clark not knowing what to say. He figured that he would let her digest the story, hopefully able to come to terms with everything as quickly as she had the first time. At least it wasn't the middle of the night when he told her this time. He doubted he'd get much sleep anyway._

"_This is the first time you've actually told me anything about us being together."_

_Clark looked over at her._

"_I guess it is, isn't it?"_

"_Yeah. Ever since I found that ring on my finger when I woke up, I wondered how the hell two people like us could get started, and not surprisingly it was not something typical."_

_Clark chuckled at that. "No. Actually, about a week and a half after that you told me that I would never need any help being atypical. It was a random conversation, but something I like to remember."_

"_That's still very true."_

"_So... uh, I hate to have to ask this, but are we ok?"_

_He looked away after his question went unanswered for a minute, sighing. He knew that anger was different from hurt, but Lois had always been able to hide hurt a lot better than she had anger, and they weren't nearly as close as they had been the last time he'd told her. Heck, anger was generally what she used to hide hurt if she wasn't steeping herself in sarcasm._

"_We're ok, Smallville. As much as I want to stay angry at you, I find myself admiring what you do too much to hold the not telling against you. No more lying though. Next time you do so we're going to have problems."_

"_Don't worry, there won't be a next time."_

_Lois turned to face him, leaning back against the arm of the couch. "Ok, so it's only 9:30. I'm willing to go back to our date if you are."_

_Clark looked over at her, grinning, and stood up off the couch, offering her a hand. She ignored it as she always did, standing up on her own. "How about we go out for some ice cream? Pretty much everywhere worth going is still open."_

_They left the apartment and walked to the elevator, smiling at each other as the doors closed. Lois threaded an arm around his, entwining her fingers with his as well. When she leaned her head on his shoulder, he couldn't help thinking that his Lois was coming back, despite knowing she never would be. _

---

"You really should have just told me right away like you did this time. It would have made things a whole lot easier and hey, you may have even gotten me back sooner."

Clark smiled at her, walking over and sitting down next to her on the floor. "Obviously I learned the error of my ways, but we also didn't have a daughter at the time. The only person's welfare to consider was yours, and I didn't think it vital you know that I am from another planet."

"I'm just saying, it would have been nice to know. So, when are the Wayne's coming over?"

"Shouldn't be too long. Chloe was taking all the kids on a tour of the city. In fact, I'm going to predict that they'll be here right... now."

Right as he said now, there was a knock on the door. Jordan jumped up off the ground and ran over to the door while Lois just eyed Clark. He was smiling innocently, and she rolled her eyes.

"Cheater."


	42. Chapter 42

---- Chapter 42

Lois pushed herself up off the floor, cracking her neck as she walked over to greet Chloe. She ran into a swarm of children first, though, that all thought they should give her hugs as greetings. After each had been properly greeted, she finally got to say hello to Chloe.

"Hey, how was the tour?"

"Not too bad. The girls think it's exciting that they get to move. Jack is less enthusiastic, since he likes the school he's in. He asked if he can stay in Gotham and keep going to school there, but I get to break his heart. Well, I don't know if it will be that bad, but he isn't going to be happy about it in all likelihood. Probably as happy as I was when I originally moved to Smallville."

Lois smiled. She remembered Chloe complaining about that for hours on end. "You can't argue that the move didn't work out in your favor, though. You wouldn't have everything you do if you hadn't, and I probably wouldn't either."

"I don't know, Lois. Ever since you and Clark fell in love for the first time I've always thought you two had the look of a couple fated to be together, no matter what."

Lois opened her mouth to speak, but shut it again quickly, no reply coming. "The heck am I supposed to say to that?"

"Nothing. I'm correct, therefore you just accept it and bask in my awesomeness."

"Consider me basking. It won't be your traditional basking, but I will soak in the awesomeness that is my cousin. I might even have my daughter soak up some of it so she can grow up to be awesome, and I will definitely get Clark to soak some up. It'll make him stronger than the sun does."

Chloe smirked. "You done?"

"Yeah, that about covers it."

"Good. You have any fruit?"

"Fruit?"

"Yeah, I really feel like eating some fruit."

Lois eyed her cousin for a second. Apparently she was craving fruit. "I think there are some grapes in the fridge, apples too. Might be an orange, though it'd probably be old by now."

It became obvious Chloe wasn't listening as she walked away towards the kitchen without saying anything back to her, not even a thanks. She followed after a second and got there as Chloe was biting grapes off of the... vine? Stem? Whatever it was, it was hilarious and she started laughing. The laughter was quickly met with a glare.

"I can't believe I'm getting laughed at by a woman who was so eager to eat pie she couldn't wait for a plate and fork."

Lois's laughter turned into coughing as she did her best to cover the flush of embarrassment. She'd forgotten about that. And now she really, really wanted pie. Cherry pie. Stupid cravings.

Turning around, she walked over to Clark in the living room, who had a giggling twin on each of his shoulders as he told a story to the kids. It sounded oddly like an encounter they'd had with a meteor infected crackpot in Smallville, which didn't seem like something that should be told to young children. Of course, since none of them lived through it and Clark was telling it with all horrifying parts edited out, she figured it was fairly kid friendly. At least they'd never run out of interesting stories to tell the kids with a little editing.

"Smallville?"

He kept on telling the story, and she found it odd that a man that could hear trouble half a world away couldn't hear her because he was so engrossed in telling a story to the kids.

"Yo, Clarkie."

Nothing.

"Hey, _Captain Plaid!_"

Clark stopped and finally turned around. "What's up, Lo?"

"I was wondering if you'd do me a favor."

"Of course I will. Ask away."

"Can you go get me a cherry pie?"

Clark put the twins down on the ground, smiling at her in a way she thought was a little too calm. She'd just requested that he go get her a pie in the middle of his story to the kids like... like a pregnant woman with a craving, which is exactly what she was. The mere thought of a pie... God, she really wanted pie.

"Please, Clark?"

"I already said yes, Lo."

"Oh. Sorry, I kinda got lost in my thoughts for a second and wasn't listening."

"Let me guess... you were imagining eating one of mom's pies?"

Lois sighed. Now she didn't know if a regular pie was going to do the trick. "I wasn't thinking about Martha's pies until just now, Smallville. Now that's the kind I want. Stupid cravings. You think Martha will have any that she'd be willing to part with?"

"I'd say the odds are in your favor. Jordan is a big fan of cherry pie as well, one of the few things she did actually inherit from me, so mom usually has at least part of one around. I'll fly out and bring some back for you."

"Quickly, if you don't mind."

"You're lucky I'm a quick guy."

He bid a quick farewell to the children and slipped out the front door, giving her a quick smile as he went. Chloe walked up beside her, giving a questioning look.

"Where's he off to?"

"Quick errand. Shouldn't be long."

"You asked him to go get pie, didn't you?"

"It's your fault! I wasn't even thinking about food until you put pie into my head. Now it's all I can think about because I really, really want one of Martha's cherry pies." She whacked her cousin on the arm. "Thanks a lot."

"You going to make fun of me and my cravings anymore?"

Lois scowled at Chloe before looking at the children. "_No._"

"That's what I thought. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to eat an apple."

Lois followed Chloe back to the kitchen. "Why fruit? There are so many things in the world that you could have, could crave and get because of who you are married to or because your best friend can go anywhere very quickly. Yet, you want fruit. Regular, ordinary fruit. Why?"

Chloe was chewing a bite, looking at Lois with an eyebrow cocked. "Why pie?"

Why pie _was_ an intriguing question. "I... I don't know, but at least I'm craving something interesting."

"Oh, good grief.. I have a theory on why you crave pie, if you want to hear it."

"Do tell, cousin."

"I blame the father of that little uterine dweller. The man may not be related to Jonathan by blood, but he certainly inherited his fathers love for Martha Kent's baked goods. I believe it's a trait that was passed on, and while there's no scientific basis in any of this, I believe that is why _you_ crave pie."

Lois rubbed at her forehead, trying to digest what she'd been told. "Ok, I know you just said it, but I'm trying to figure out if you said what you said so let's rehash this. You think that because my son has possibly inherited the trait of liking pie from his father that I now crave pie too. This discounts the fact that I also enjoy pie, especially those made by Martha. Heck, everybody likes 'em!"

"What you liked and what you craved were two entirely different things when you were pregnant with Jordan. What have your feelings always been about milk?"

"Meh."

"Exactly. You were drinking so much milk last time you were round that Clark was actually making jokes about how you were going to be feeding Jordan 2 instead of breast milk for the first few days of her life. That brings us around to this pregnancy. Your favorite pie, last time I checked, was chocolate. I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that today you were requesting Clark make a run for a cherry pie, which happens to be _his_ favorite."

Lois looked away, scratching at her neck as she did so. "That can be neither proved nor disproved, Chloe Wayne, so your theory is nonsense."

"You do know that Clark will actually bring the pie back with him, right?"

"That is true, but I'm going to eat it all before you can get a look at it."

"That is the most ridiculous thing you've said in weeks."

"What can I say, you force me to be ridiculous by bring up theories that suggest I crave pie because my unborn son may have a predilection towards it once he's old enough to eat some and realize just how great it is. It's like saying you crave fruit because Bruce likes it when you like it too!"

"Hey, which of us is the one that heals a whole hell of a lot faster than she should?"

"Ok, yes, there are some extenuating factors in my pregnancy, like the fact that AJ is half kryptonian, but I seriously doubt that has any effect on my cravings."

Chloe held the apple in her mouth as she spread her arms out as if to say 'who knows' and shrugged. She grabbed the apple again and took a bite before speaking.

"Who's to say what is and isn't because you're carrying a kryptonian baby? Fact is, not even your doctor knows what happens and why because of Clark's genes in your passenger. He's said as much. The idea of why you get your new and improved healing is exactly that, an idea. You're dealing with so many unknowns because with all the progress made on figuring out what goes on with human babies in the womb, I don't think there will ever be research done on kryptonian babies in the womb."

"If they ever do start that research, I guess I won't need a secret identity anymore."

Both the women turned around and found Clark standing behind them, holding not just one pie in his hands, but three. Lois had to hold herself back from actually pouncing on her husband and the baked goods, but she also didn't take her time walking over at a normal pace. She grabbed the top pie, checking to make sure it was cherry before cutting a slice and placing it on a plate. She grabbed a fork and started digging in.

She couldn't hold back the moan of satisfaction that came with the first bite. "God, that's awesome... really hits the spot."

She smiled at Clark and Chloe, the latter of which was finishing off her apple as she smirked. The smirk soured after a moment and she looked up at Clark, frowning. "That's not what I look and sound like when I finally get something I crave, is it?"

Clark still hadn't taken his eyes off of Lois. "You should probably ask Bruce about that when you get back to the hotel." He paused a second before speaking again. "Is it wrong that watching my wife eat pie turns me on?"

"Not when she moans like that, no."

Lois heard and ignored what they were saying, enjoying her pie. When the slice was gone, she took to licking the fork while eyeing what was still on the counter. It was taunting her, asking to be eaten. She didn't feel all that hungry, but damn it, she wanted more pie! Finally, she jut gave in and went along with the theory that this was all the doing of AJ. Apparently her son was going to be as much of a pie lover as his father.

She cut herself another slice and started in on it, again moaning when she downed that first bite. Why was the first bite always so good?

"If all women are like that when they get something they crave, it goes a long way to explain why husbands find their wives so sexy when pregnant. You know, aside from actually being physically attracted to them."

Lois frowned at Chloe, speaking around her pie. "Can I help it that this pie is moan inducingly good?"

"I don't think inducingly is a word, cuz."

Rolling her eyes, Lois walked over and forked a bite of pie into Chloe's mouth. She waited a second, then grinned as Chloe let out the same moan she'd heard coming from herself. Her cousin looked like she'd melted a little bit as she had swallowed that bite.

"What the hell does Martha put in that?" After a quick glance at the children, she spoke in a hushed voice. "It's like eating sex!"

Lois looked over at the kids to make sure they were all still entranced by whatever it was they were doing before looking back to Chloe.

"I have no idea, but I can't get enough of it. I wasn't even hungry for the second slice, but the stuff is so damn addicting that I couldn't NOT have it."

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Lois watched as Chloe started walking over and got herself a slice of the pie, grabbing a fork from the drawer. She walked back over to them, eating as she did so. "Clark, any chance Martha could make a few of these for me?"

"I doubt she'll mind. She was in the process of making another when I was there, so I'll bring one back for you on Monday. Should I bring a fork along so you can just eat it in your office throughout the day, or will you provide your own?"

Chloe smiled sheepishly. "Bring one, if you don't mind. I tend to be forgetful these days. Had to ask Bruce where I was taking the kids today because I could not remember for the life of me. I hate pregnancy brain."

Clark shook his head. "Now that you've moved back to Metropolis, I'm going to be taking care of you almost as much as I will Lois, won't I?"

"I wouldn't... well, no... " She sighed. "Yeah, probably. I'm not going to be calling you to go get me anything in the middle of the night, though. That's asking a little too much of friendship."

"No, it's not. After everything you've done for me over the years, I won't mind doing the things Bruce can't always be around to do. I'm out helping people most nights as it is, so I'll probably be up anyway. And as you remember from your first two pregnancies, I am not limited in where I can go to get you stuff."

Lois looked up at him. "What do you mean by as she remembers?"

Clark smiled. "Chloe has somewhat more exotic cravings around her... seventh month, is it?"

"Yeah. Is it weird that you know that?"

"Nah, we're close enough that it's normal." He flashed a quick smile before turning back to Lois.

"In her seventh month she tends to crave things from very random places, always abroad. With Jack, she had to have some bread pudding straight from England, accept no substitutes. Bruce wanted to send Alfred on the jet, but since Chloe thought that would take too long they called me and asked me to go get it. Alfred knew of a place that had made great bread pudding the last time he was there, so he gave me an address and I went and got it for her."

Lois looked at Chloe. "Why bread pudding?"

"It's just my body, not like I would know anything about how it works."

"With Aly and Liz, I was actually sent to South Korea to get bulgogi."

"I love that stuff! When the General and I spent some time in South Korea I would eat it everyday. Couldn't get enough of it and I've never found any place in the states that can make it up to snuff compared with what I had there."

"That is exactly why I wanted it from Korea and not a Korean place in Gotham. It's always better from the source."

"So, any ideas on what it could be this time?"

"I'm sure I'll be letting Clark know here in about two and a half to three months from now. Let me tell you, I am _really_ looking forward to randomly and overwhelmingly wanting some odd food and having to ask your husband to run off to who-knows-where to get it."

Lois grinned at the sarcasm dripping off of Chloe's syllables. "Well, you've sent him to Europe and Asia so far, so maybe it'll be something African or South American this time."

"Or Australian, who knows."

"Say," Lois said turning to Clark, who was now eating a slice of pie of his own, "what was my big craving during Jordan's pregnancy?"

"Milk. You drank so much of it I thought Jordan was going to get 2 instead of breast milk when she was born." Off her silence, he shrugged. "You thought it was annoyingly funny last time."

Lois turned back to Chloe. "I thought you were kidding about that!"

"Why would I kid about that? You really DID drink a ton of milk and Clark really DID make that joke! Did you think I just wanted to make things up about you now?"

"Well, no, but my big craving was milk? That's... disappointing!"

"Well, theory is some cravings have biological function behind them, like if a woman is low on protein she'll crave some steak or other red meat. You never had any blood tests, obviously, but maybe you were lacking calcium. Or, perhaps my theory is right and you are subject to the genetically passed on tastes of your children. Milk with Jordan, and so far pie with Almond Joy."

"I don't think there's a joke that goes with pie and what's going to come out of my breasts, so at least there's that."

"Pie filling." Clark paused a second before speaking again. "Wow, that's a _weird_ mental picture."

Lois spun and leveled Clark with her best glare, causing him to cough as he attempted to swallow his pie. He gave her a small smile.

"Sorry, just saying."

"How about less 'just saying' and more 'thank you for carrying our child and being the butt of a bunch of unnecessary jokes.'"

"Thank you for carrying our child and being the butt of a bunch of unnecessary jokes. And I love you, very much." He walked over and kissed her, melting her annoyance in a pleasurable fashion. She wondered if she should be annoyed he could get rid of her annoyance so easily.

Very quickly the adults were joined by a couple of the children. Jordan was pulling on Lois's leg and Jack had come to stand between Clark and his mother. Lois sat her plate and fork down before picking Jordan up.

"What's up, baby girl?"

"We're hungry."

"Yeah. May we have some pie, mom? It smells really good."

"You may have pie after dinner, son of mine. If you had any before it would end up being your dinner and I would be a horrible mother for not getting something nutritional in your system."

"You could never be a horrible mother, mom."

Chloe hugged Jack to her slightly extended stomach and smiled down at him. "You remember that when you're a teenager and think I'm being unfair all the time."

"What about me, mommy? May I have pie?"

Lois looked down at Jordan. "What do you think?"

"I think yes."

"Think again, daughter of mine. You may also have pie after you have some dinner."

"What are we having for dinner?"

Four pairs of eyes all settled on Clark. He looked at all them, one eyebrow higher than the other. "How about we cook something instead of sending me out for take out?"

"I'll help, uncle Clark!"

Clark grinned and picked up Jack, throwing him over his shoulder. "Yeah, you will. We men have to go out and bring back meat for the women folk, don't we?"

"Yeah!"

"Clark Kent! What are trying to teach my son?"

"Nothing. We would never adhere to the outdated gender roles with which we joke, would we Jack?"

"Never, mom."

She gave him a light swat on the backside as he stayed splayed over Clark's shoulder. "See that you don't. Now, off with you two. We helpless women will stay here and gather things that grow on trees and in the ground while you hunt the meat."

They watched as Clark and Jack left, declaring how they were going to be the best hunters ever and come back with tons of meat to cook for the women. Jordan looked at Chloe. "We're helpless?"

"Hardly, but the joke makes them happy, so we forebear." Chloe winked at Jordan before turning around to get herself a glass of water.

Lois watched as Jordan did her best to wink, too, but ended up doing so with both eyes instead of just one. Lois kissed her on the side of the head then let her down back on the ground. She announced she was going to the bathroom, then took off back towards her hallway.

"So, since we are apparently in charge of the fruits and vegetables for dinner, what's your plan?"

"I actually make a mean salad now, Lo, for all the cooking skills I used to lack."

"I maintain that salad is just fancy leaf eating, even if I do like to have one occasionally."

"So I've heard year after year. Come on, you get to chop things while I do the real work of mixing it up."

An hour later, the salad was all made and Clark and Jack were on the patio grilling pork chops. Lois watched the interplay between them, allowing herself a smile as they started to sword fight with tongs. Chloe walked over and stood next to her, watching them as well.

"Clark has always been Jack's favorite, even when he was a baby."

"I'm not surprised. Even back in Smallville Clark seemed to have a way with children. They trust him right off the bat, because... because he's Clark. There's no other way to put it, really, and it's yet another endearing quality."

"I tried to be surprised the first time he held Jack and he stopped crying after five hours of loud displeasure at everything Bruce and I tried, but it didn't work. I tried to be surprised when Jack was completely against potty training and a few minutes of talking to Clark about it made him gung ho about using the toilet, but it was a fruitless venture. I think the man is a baby whisperer or something."

"Was he just as good with the twins?"

"Of course, but they don't go to him like Jack does. They're more shy with men, even their uncle Clark. He's basically a second father to Jack, though. I'm just happy Bruce and Clark are good enough friends that it doesn't create any friction. I'm sure there are men out there that would think they were being replaced."

Lois looked down at the ground for a moment before looking back up and watching Clark and Jack again. "How was he with Jordan?"

"Better than he was with Jack."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He didn't hold a candle to you, though."

"What?"

"You lived and breathed Jordan for the first year of her life. She spent more waking time at the Planet with you than she did here. After she was born, you rarely let her out of your sight. If she looked like she _might_ cry, you were there to comfort her. The only time you weren't with her was when you were asleep, and you had Clark with her then.

"Really, you were her world. First voice she heard when she woke up and last voice she heard when she went to sleep. In my opinion, Martha Kent couldn't have done a better job."

Lois sniffled and wiped away a few tears. That was the best compliment she could have ever imagined about being a mother.

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me for the truth, Lo."


	43. Chapter 43

---- Chapter 43

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Nothing, mommy." That was a very sleepy voice emanating from he daughter.

Lois looked down at Jordan, who'd laid her head in her lap. She was looking very close to falling asleep, which wasn't surprising since it was well past her bedtime. Chloe and her children had left a while ago to spend the rest of the evening with Bruce at the hotel, and somehow Jordan had wriggled her way out of going to bed on time.

They were both in Lois and Clark's bed now, and Lois was wondering how she'd become a pillow when there were a couple free ones on Clark's side.

"Where's daddy?"

Lois ran a hand over Jordan's head, something she'd found to be a common occurrence of comfort for the little girl. It had really been the first touch she'd shared with Jordan after she'd woken up without her memory, and had become special to her because of it. She smiled as she thought of it, then remembered she'd been asked a question.

"Daddy's out helping people and making the world a better place. Not many people can say that's what they do, and the world is lucky to have him. Even luckier than the world, though, are you and I. The world only gets a glimpse of how great your father is; we get to see it every day."

She ran her hand lightly through Jordan's hair, letting her head fall back against the headboard of the bed.

"He loves us so much, baby girl. I wish I had known before all this forgetting stuff, but I don't think I was ready for... love, I guess. But I couldn't have been too far from being able to have a life with love in it, because all it took was thirteen days for me to fall in love with him. I don't think that could happen with anybody but him, though. There's just something about him, and it has nothing to do with his powers or heritage..."

Lois would have continued her talking on Clark but she was interrupted by the sound of a tiny snore. In spite of it being the cutest thing she'd ever heard, which seemed to be a common occurrence with her daughter, Lois rolled her eyes at the fact that she'd allowed Jordan to fall asleep in their room instead of laying down with her in her own room. She thought about moving the young snoring lump to her room for a second before figuring it'd be easier to wait for Clark.

She needed something to keep her occupied until he got back. Sleep would certainly do the trick, but she never seemed to fall asleep quickly at night unless he was there to be used as a pillow, mush like she was being used currently. Deciding against it, she reached under her pillow and pulled out the diary, opening to the next unread entry.

3/14/18

Being pregnant is... odd.

My stomach has exploded since I last wrote in this thing. According to the doc's estimates, I'm about fifteen weeks pregnant, but I really wasn't showing until maybe a week and a half ago. That was the first day that I could look down and really notice that I was getting round. A few days later, I was starting to need maternity clothes, which I was not happy about. I like my regular clothes, damn it!

That's not the point, though. The point is, I now look down and find myself sporting a pronounced bump. The doctor actually did an ultrasound yesterday because of how quickly I went from nothing to something, wondering if I was perhaps pregnant with twins. I'm not, and as you almost certainly know by this point, the baby is a girl. He was surprised that they could tell at this point.

I don't actually know how fast one's stomach is supposed to grow when pregnant, as my only basis is when Chloe was pregnant with the twins. She says I'm currently going a little quicker than she was with Jack, and only a little slower than she was with the twins as I can tell, which is not comforting. Maybe it will slow down soon.

The quick growth of my stomach has left me with an appetite rivaling that of somebody weighing four hundred pounds more than I do. It's unbelievable. I mean, according to the books it's pretty normal to be ravenous once the morning sickness lets up since it's been iffy on whether or not the food would come back up, but this has been insane! Yesterday, for example, I ate three roast beef sandwiches for lunch, with a side of two salads. That was one meal, and I wasn't completely full at the end of it.

To be honest, though, I am not hating this whole eating like a crazy person thing. My clothes may not fit, but at least I get to make up for it by eating what I want when I want it (So far no insane cravings, but Clark has been great about getting me whatever I want). If this keeps up for the rest of the pregnancy, though, I'm going to end up weighing eighty pounds more than where I started.

I'm actually already up seventeen when the books talk about five to ten being the average. With my luck, the baby is going to be eleven pounds when born and I won't even get the chance to have pain killers. I wonder if this is because the baby is half-kryptonian... maybe they have faster pregnancies. I could only be so lucky. The way things go for me, it'd be more likely that they'd have longer pregnancies with bigger babies.

Speaking of things related to Krypton, Clark has been hovering over me like something could go wrong at any minute. I told him I was pregnant the day after my last diary entry, and his first reaction was to apologize. Apologize! He did it with a grin on his face after we had kissed for a mind melting, knee buckling few minutes, which made it an odd combination of expression and words. I told him that the time we didn't use protection was a mutual decision, if not mostly just me (alright, it was me telling him I wanted it to be just us, but he didn't argue!), but that wasn't what he was apologizing for.

He actually apologized for the fact that I was going to have to go through a pregnancy with a half-kryptonian baby.

I about thumped him upside the head, and the sore hand would have been worth it. He acted like I hadn't thought about the facts of what a life with him would entail! How could he have not realized that I knew that this was a very real possibility when we got married? I knew that if it was possible, he wanted to have children. The world deserves to have the child of Clark Kent in the future. As much as I think I'm going to be a horrible mother, having a baby with him might just be the best thing I ever do.

The actual mothering might be the worst, but that's why Clark is here: to offset my mistakes.

I find that, against all odds and in spite of every ounce of self-doubt I have ever had, I'm looking forward to being a mother. I want to be a mother. Don't get me wrong, it scares the ever living shit out of me that a child will be dependent on me. Hell, I feel sorry for the baby being dependent on me at _this_ point. Every night since I found out I was pregnant I've given my uterus a pep talk, making sure it knows how important this is to me. Clark's caught me doing it a few times recently actually tried to join in on it.

The only person that talks to my uterus is me. He can talk to the baby all he wants, which I find adorable, but I asked him to leave my uterus to me. I think I put enough pressure on it by asking it not to royally f-ck this up for me, even though I've never asked it for anything before because I would have felt like a crazy person. If Clark tried giving it pep talks it might start contracting out of nervousness, and that's the last thing I need.

Well, that's a whole load of crazy I just wrote. Pep talks to my uterus... I'm a freaking loon.

Back in the world of the sane, it didn't really hit me that I was pregnant until I started showing. I mean, yeah, when the morning sickness got me, that made it a lot more real. That started at what was apparently the five week point, which was also early according to the books (and was a whole lot of fun to try an make excuses about to Clark).

Really, I don't even know why I read the books about what happens when, because first off, it's just an estimate. If I put stock in those numbers all the time, it's just going to drive me more crazy than I usually am. Second, I'm carrying a Kryptonian baby. I can't know what the hell is going to happen when.

I know I've mentioned the doctor in here, but it's not just a regular 'ol OBGYN. No, we had to get somebody Clark knew from the Swann Institute that already knew his secret to act as our doctor.

Only something like that could happen to us. I hope. Well, maybe Kara would have this problem if she settles down some day... I would write more about that but the image of a pregnant Supergirl flying around the city makes me laugh too much.

Despite everything, I'm going to do my best to not complain too much. I may bitch and moan about the down sides, but this is my baby girl that I'm going through this for, and I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. She isn't even born yet, and I feel like I want to do everything I can for her. It's like... it's like nothing I've ever experienced before.

I talked to Chloe about it once I told everybody. Of course, if you look back at the first entry of this year, the exhaustion I was feeling was early pregnancy stuff. The odd look was Chloe figuring it out before I did. I thought I was light during December, but didn't give it much thought. Apparently I should have, but how the hell was I supposed to know that it was spotting and not my period?

Back on track, she told me that it would be like nothing I'd ever felt. She tried to describe it with more depth than that, but found herself to be lacking the words. Some journalists we are, not able to describe our own feelings.

Not something I am going to complain about, really, because I really like the way I feel and hope that you get to feel it soon, and am happy for you if you already are or have.

I don't know if you will have the chance to experience being pregnant. I don't know if I will remember being pregnant. For all I know, I could fall asleep one day while breast feeding (they still say it's better for the baby, so that's what I'll be doing) and wake up without my memory from the last two years and few months, a baby sucking on one of my nipples.

Thinking about it makes me shudder, but it also strikes me as something that could be kind of funny. To an outside observer, anyway. I think watching a woman wake up with a baby attached to her boob and not knowing how that came to be would be hilarious, so long as it wasn't me.

When it comes right down to it, though, there's really only one conclusion I can draw from all this rambling: I love this baby. I love her with everything I have and while the future and my ability to actually care for a baby are up in the air, this has to be something I can do. It's not about me, it's about giving this baby girl a good life. That's all that counts at this point.

Everybody assures me that I'll be able to do just that. Clark does it exactly like I expect he would, with a soft touch and reassuring words that actually make me feel better. Martha just shakes her head at me and tells stories of raising Clark, assuring me that this baby will probably be a little easier to raise than a three year old full kryptonian. She obviously underestimates just how much trouble there is embedded in the Lane genes.

Chloe tells me that if she could handle a little boy, then I shouldn't have any problem with my baby girl. As good of a investigative reporter she is, I question her sanity at this point. I really think that the twins have broken something in her mind that makes her think things that aren't true. She knows what I was like as a very young child. Handful doesn't do it justice. When I could be a kid before mom died, I was the very definition of rambunctious.

Of course, being me, you know this. It's one of the things we actually get to remember. I can't imagine not being able to remember mom, even if the memories are fuzzy.

I hope that when this baby (and any other future children we may have) is old enough to understand what's going on with her mother's mind, she won't be too angry. Perhaps she'll inherit Clark's demeanor instead of mine.

Yeah, right.

Ah well. The important thing is, I love this baby, more every day. Clark jokes that my love for her grows every day proportionately with how much my stomach has grown. That's a time that he gets to go get stuff for me and think about making size jokes. I love the man, but when I'm the size of a house and he's cracking jokes, I may have to use this crazy good healing and whack him a few times. The hurt would be worth it, I bet.

Anyway, that's all I seem to have for this time. Usually I have a good ending for my entries, but this time... I got nothing. I've been getting hit with pregnancy brain, as they call it, off and on recently, so I'll blame the lack of a satisfactory ending on that. I actually forgot my phone yesterday, and you know what it takes for that to happen.

Maybe I'll have something good tomorrow that I can come back and add. In all likelihood, I'll just write next month.

Well, all those thoughts were scary kinds of familiar. She may as well have been reading her own thoughts from a couple weeks ago. Looking down at Jordan, she was suddenly struck by the fact that the diary entry was about her. All the fears, all the unknowns... she hadn't had Jordan there to be a reassurance that she could be a good parent. It had to have been the scariest thing she'd ever faced. She sat the diary down and smoothed her hair once more, this time for her own comfort instead of Jordan's

"Well, don't you two look comfortable."

Lois raised an eyebrow as she noticed Clark leaning on the door frame, arms crossed over his chest. "What can I say? Apparently since my thighs are becoming as monstrous as my stomach, they're better pillows than pillows are. I'm just waiting for my butt to blow up and accompany my boobs, stomach and thighs in the ridiculousness that is my body these days. How did the helping out go?"

"Went well. And I think you look amazing when pregnant, Lo."

"Yeah, how about you take her to bed and then we'll discuss your craziness."

After placing a kiss on her head, causing her to once again roll her eyes, Clark picked Jordan up and took her to her room. Lois smiled and slipped the diary under her pillow, hoping Clark hadn't noticed it. She may have spilled the beans about the bracelet, but the diary was going to stay a secret. It had been going for nearly four and a half years without him finding it, so she wasn't going to blow it now.

Clark walked back in, sitting down on his side of the bed and spreading himself out a bit. "So, you wanted to discuss my craziness?"

"Yeah, which is this nonsense about you finding me attractive during pregnancy. Well, it's not nonsense, really, since my boobs get bigger. You going to complain about that?"

"Considering they're getting bigger so that they're able to feed our son for seven or eight months, or however long you choose to nurse this time, no."

Apparently he'd started buying into her vision as well. It was the first time he'd referred to the baby as their son. "Good answer, though I think it's a little bit of a cop out. I want to see you get out of the fact that my backside is going to be as pronounced as my stomach is now, because I know you're a fan and always have been."

Backside? Why hadn't she just said ass? Jesus, she was talking like a G rated movie.

"What? I'm attracted to you because you're you, not because your backside is getting bigger."

"Ha!" She pointed at him. "Back in 2008 when you followed Chloe and I undercover at that warehouse, and we were running from those guys after doing some late night snooping, I caught you looking at my ass in a mirror. I never called you on it because hey, I have a nice ass and didn't feel like making you blush so hard your face glowed and gave us away."

"Have I once denied being physically attracted to you?"

Lois scoffed. "If you did, you'd be lying!"

"I know that. Look, I was not the most subtle person back then. I was twenty-one and harboring a love I never thought would be requited. Taking the occasional glimpse was all I had. I may be a boy scout, but I'm also a red blooded kryptonian male."

"That's disappointing."

"I did my best to not look a lot..."

Lois swatted his chest with the back of her hand. "Not that. Knowing how you feel now it's not a big deal. Hell, it wasn't a big deal back then, just something to make you blush. I just thought you hadn't gotten any in a while and needed something to dream about. I figured better me than Chloe, else all that business of her having a crush could have come back and that would have sucked.

"The disappointing part is the red blood. I'd seen you injured before, but ever since I learned you were otherworldly I had this funny image of you having glowing blood or something."

"Sorry to disappoint."

"I'm sure you are." Lois scooted over, draping herself over him as best she could without squishing her stomach. After a second of wriggling and adjusting, she got herself comfortable and kept AJ from getting compressed. Frowning, she looked down and found she was still wearing pants. She quickly discarded them and got comfortable again.

"Don't want to switch into your pajama top?"

As a response, she closed her eyes and nuzzled into his shoulder a little more. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pressed a kiss onto her temple. "Goodnight, Lo."

Lois pulled the comforter up to her neck, tucking herself in as she tried to fight off the state of wakefulness that was overtaking her. The sunlight intruding into the bedroom wasn't helping things any and she turned over away from the light. She opened an eye and looked at the clock, finding it to be just after eight in the morning. She felt like she could sleep until noon without any problems.

Sitting up, she found herself alone in the bed, unsurprisingly. She'd discovered that Clark was likely to be the first up after growing up on a farm. He always seemed to wake up fresh and happy, too, which was not something she was used to in the morning. He should be grumbly like everyone else in the world. Grumbly? God, was that even a word? Even her thoughts were rated G now, it seemed. Unbelievable.

Lois tossed the covers aside and stretched as she stood up out of bed. She walked over to the dresser and grabbed a pair of sweat pants, pulling them on before discarding her shirt and throwing on the plaid flannel thing she'd taken to wearing at night lately. She had to admit, it was all kinds of comfortable, and these days good at keeping her warm on chilly mornings.

She ran a hand over her stomach, bidding a quiet good morning to AJ when he flutter-kicked and walked out to the living room, finding Jordan perched on the couch with the comics much like she had been the first Sunday she remembered in her present year. She walked over and sat down next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.

"Morning, baby girl. How are you?"

"Good, mommy."

"That's what I like to hear. How are the comics today?"

"Funny. Dagwood ate a big sandwich then took a nap instead of mowing the yard."

"I would expect nothing less. Hey, where's daddy?"

Jordan shrugged and Lois looked around the apartment, not spotting Clark upon initial inspection. Suddenly he poked his head out of the hallway leading to Jordan's room.

"Over here doing laundry, Lo."

"So that's where the washer and dryer are. I never did look inside that door."

"This is mostly our weekend clothes and Jordan's stuff. You've always preferred to have your work clothes pressed, and it's easy to just take mine in too."

"Very true. I may not be the cleanest person in the world, but I still like to look nice at work. People are much more likely to take you seriously when you have clean clothes, or so I'm told since I don't think I've ever gone to work in dirty ones unless I was coming back from following a lead."

She watched Clark exit the laundry room as walk out to the living room, sitting down next to her and pulling her into a hug much like she had Jordan. His was accompanied by a kiss, though, making her smile like some love struck goofball. Fortunately, she didn't really care if she looked goofy anymore.

"Good morning."

"Morning, Smallville. How did ya sleep?"

"Through the night. First time in a week nobody called for help. I did a fly around early this morning and helped a couple people, but that was before the two of you got up."

"I figured as much, since I got up about five minutes ago." Lois covered her mouth as she yawned, stretching her other arm above her head as she did so. She gave a small head shake once it was done and got back to what she was going to say. "So, what's on deck for today?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing? That seems unlikely."

"I agree, but Chloe is spending time with Bruce and the kids until they fly back to Gotham this afternoon, then planning to go through those crime statistics. She doesn't know how long that will take and is planning on being holed up in the hotel room until she passes out from boredom or just being tired."

"Lucky her. Say, when is their house going to be ready?"

"Next week."

That surprised Lois. She didn't think that it was going to be that soon. "Really? I guess that whole thing about Jack switching school's was a lot more now than I thought, because I kept thinking she meant he'd start here next fall and not at the semester change."

Lois thought about that for a second before another question came to mind. "Since they wanted to be in before us as a surprise, when are we supposed to be moving?"

"It'll be done getting cleaned up a month from today, and we'll be able to start moving in a day after that. Speaking of which, we should probably start packing things soon."

"How about we just take advantage of your speed and you do the packing the day before in about two minutes?"

"How about that sounds like a lot of effort for me and none for you. We're moving into our first house together! I figured you might want to take part in the process, even if you've only loved me for not a lot of days now."

"Smallville, do you know how many times I've moved in my life? I'm as happy as I've ever been, and falling in love with you has been part of that. In no way, though, does this prompt me to want to pack and then unpack things for months on end." She watched him deflate a little, and suddenly packing and unpacking didn't sound too bad. She hated to see him disappointed.

"Look, how about we do some of it together, like Jordan's stuff and our clothes. That way we all get the moving into our first house experience but you also don't make your pregnant wife use all her spare time packing when she should be resting or doing other things, if you catch my drift."

Clark rolled his eyes, slouching back into the couch. "That's low, Lo."

"Nobody ever said I played fair."

He pulled her over and into another kiss, this one far less innocent than the kiss good morning had been. She was pretty sure that if Jordan hadn't been there it wouldn't have stopped at their mouths.

"What was that for?"

"I caught your drift."


	44. Chapter 44

---- Chapter 44

_Clark took a deep breath in and breathed out through his nose, straightening his tie as he walked up to the apartment door._..

---

"Wait a second. You already told that story."

"Which one are we on?"

"You proposing to me again, Smallville. You said it was the next major event after we became a couple again. Aren't I the one that's supposed to have pregnancy brain?"

"Oh come on, I have a lot of stories to tell. I was bound to start with the wrong one at some point. At least I started telling one you'd already heard instead of skipping ahead. Then there would have been a whole out of order thing that I would like to avoid. I think it's easier to remember all this in a linear fashion."

"I agree. Now, you proposing to me. Once more with feeling, Smallville."

"This could take a while."

"It's a Sunday with no plans. Is it going to take longer than, say, eight hours?"

"We'll see. Let me set this up by saying it takes place about six months after we got together, in mid-November of 2016. Actually, now that I think about it, it was five years to the day before you forgot earlier this year, November 13th. It ends six weeks after, though."

---

_Clark leaned back against the balcony railing, looking through the glass doors into the bedroom as Lois brushed her hair out. It was about as serene as he'd ever seen her. She looked like she didn't have a care in the world for once, eyes closed as she got herself ready to go out to dinner._

"_Earth to Kal-El!"_

_Blinking a couple times, he looked over to the small blonde woman standing next to him. "What are you calling me that for?"_

"_Because I was trying to talk to you and you zoned out!"_

"_Hey, like you're one to talk. When you told us you were with Bruce I could barely get in three words with you for the next month because you didn't have to hide it and just basically spent the entire time in bed with him. Then when you were in the real world, you were dreaming about being back in bed."_

"_Well... that was different. I'm female and allowed to zone out like that."_

"_What?"_

"_Yeah, I couldn't come up with a good reason so I just went the ridiculous route. What I was aiming for was to continue on the fact that I'm not sure you should ask her to marry you yet."_

_Clark frowned, keeping his eyes off the room so as not to get distracted again. "Ten months ago you were telling me that you thought I should have asked her to marry me after six months of being together when I waited a year and a half. Waiting may not be an option, because we don't know when she may forget again."_

"_If everything goes in a similar fashion you'll have already been engaged six months by that point. That would be one step closer than being engaged for a few hours."_

"_I don't want to be one step closer, Chloe. I want Lois to be my wife, and I think she's just as ready to take the next step this time as she was last time. It's not the same love, but it's just as strong. Is it odd that I've experienced two different kinds of love with the same woman?"_

"_No, it's certainly not weird, considering that she lost all of the experiences that made her the person she was and is now Lois Lane version four."_

"_Four?"_

"_Pre-coma Lois, post-coma Lois, first time forgetting Lois and now second time forgetting Lois."_

"_Ah."_

"_Once again, back to the point: this is not the same Lois Lane you originally fell in love, or fell in love with again when you returned from training. Every single time she forgets, you're going to have to adapt to a Lois that starts with a blank slate and grows as a person as she experiences new things. You, my friend, will never love the same woman twice. If her condition wasn't so crappy it would be kind of poetic."_

_Clark eyed Chloe for a second before looking back inside to find Lois was no longer in front of the dresser. Shrugging, he looked back to Chloe. "I know that I'm not going to have it easy, Chloe. Knowing Lois, the fact that I have to bring her around to loving me all over again every two to four years is not all that shocking, even if how it happens isn't her doing. _

"_I think we're there, though. I know that this isn't the same love we had last time, because that was a one-of-a-kind thing with as long as I didn't tell her I was Superman and the fact that she wanted to be with him instead of Clark Kent. I mean, that whole thing was just a mess that once we worked through it made us an amazingly strong couple. Sadly, we don't have that anymore._

"_What we have now is the fact that we're in love, and despite the fact that she didn't think she was going to get to use her heart for anyone but your family and my mom..."_

"_She would have included you eventually."_

"_Thanks. Anyway, based on what you've told me and what she's said, she didn't think she was going to have something like this before the attack, let alone after. I love her so much I don't know what I would do if I truly lost her. I think she feels the same way about me, and that's why this is a good time to propose."_

_Chloe pushed herself off the railing, walking in front of Clark and looking him in the eye. She'd developed this way of looking into him and deciphering his feelings that was oddly reminiscent of his mother. Come to think of it, this was something that had happened since Jack was born... was this just something all mothers could do?_

_She sighed after a moment. "I'm not going to talk you out of this, am I Clark?"_

"_If anyone could, it would be you. But no, you're not. I love her too much, Chloe."_

"_Alright. Best of luck, Clark." She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him on the cheek. "Now, mind giving me a ride back to my hotel?"_

"_You never did tell me why you're in town. What does the Gazette have you doing here in Metropolis?"_

_She grinned and poked him in the chest lightly. "Research. They have me doing an article comparing Batman to Superman." Clark broke out into laughter and she followed him._

"_Wow. Who even came up with that?"_

"_My editor. It's the first in a series of articles comparing Gotham's Dark Knight to various other heroes, including Superman, The Flash, Wonder Woman and Green Arrow, among others. Since he knows I'm quite familiar with Metropolis, having lived here and all, I got the Superman part of it all. It also doesn't hurt that he knows my cousin is the only journalist to score a one on ones with you. I told him I'd be happy to do all the pieces, but I could only finagle three in the end."_

"_Good use of finagle. Who else did you get?"_

"_Flash and Green Arrow. I'm sure the whole thing will get just as much of a laugh out of Bart and Ollie as it did you. By the way, any chance of me getting some quotes?"_

"_I think that can be arranged. It may be time I give something to somebody that isn't Lois. It's just blatant favoritism, really."_

"_What's blatant favoritism?" _

_Clark and Chloe both turned their heads and spotted Lois closing the balcony door behind her. She was adorned in a dress that hugged all the curves he loved so much. He knew he should say something instead of being struck dumb._

"_Wow," he breathed out as his jaw dropped. Realizing it, he closed it and make a nice clacking sound. He very quickly felt like the smoothest guy in the world and smiled as she rolled her eyes at him. _

"_Thank you, but it's not necessary. Now, blatant favoritism?"_

_Chloe stepped in front of him while he was still trying to find words. "The fact that Superman does all his one on one stuff with you. He's thinking of branching out and giving yours truly some material for my comparative article on Batman and Superman. Hell, they're the only quotes I have a shot from a hero for this one, even if I am married to Batman."_

_Lois raised an eyebrow and looked at him, adorning something of a half-smirk and half-frown. "Is that so, Smallville? And here I thought I was special. Now I'm just going to be a notch on your journalist belt."_

"_Oh good lord."_

"_Come on, cuz, it's time to share."_

"_Fine, fine. If he must, I guess Superman should give a one on one to the cousin of the best."_

"_He already does, which is why he's now coming to the best."_

_Lois laughed, breaking out into a huge grin. "Oh, is that how it's going to be?"_

_Chloe returned the grin in turn before jumping into Clark's arms so he could fly her to the hotel. "That's how it is, Lois Lane, and don't you forget it. Now, away my caped carrier, away!"_

_After a quick trip to the hotel and back, Clark and Lois went downtown to a super fancy restaurant that Ollie had acquired at some point Clark was not aware of. What he was aware of was that he and Lois were on a VIP list that gave them access to a private dining area, courtesy of the owner, and he was grateful for it tonight. He fingered the ring box in his pocket as they walked to the table. Their private waiter took their drink orders and walked off, leaving them alone._

"_It's nice to have connections, isn't it?"_

"_Sure is, Lo. This may not be my favorite place in the world, but you can't argue against the ambiance. The romance in the room is almost palpable."_

_Soon their drinks were out and they ordered their food. They talked about this and that while they waited, never failing to make each other smile. Clark just felt that it was a night to be remembered. He could feel the air buzzing around him with her love, and he wanted a symbol of his love for her on her left hand. He wanted the world to know that he was the luckiest man in the world._

_They meal came and went, as did dessert. Everything was going as well as he could have ever hoped. He thought he may be dreaming how well this was going, and if she accepted, didn't ever want to wake up. He stood up and offered her his hand. _

"_Dance with me."_

_She smiled as she stood up. "We've never danced before. What's the occasion?"_

_Her took her in his arms, holding her close. "Is I love you enough?"_

"_As it just so happens, it is." She laid her head against his chest, and he couldn't hold it in any longer. He wondered if their eight seconds of dancing was the shortest one that had ever happened in a room where dancing was some thing couples did frequently._

"_Marry me."_

_She stepped back, a look of shock on her face. He kneeled down in front of her, opening the ring box and feeling as traditional as he thought he ever would with Lois._

"_Lois Lane, will you marry me?"_

"_I uh... what?"_

"_Marriage. You and I. That's what I'm proposing, anyway, unless you have something else in mind."_

"_No... just, no."_

_That wasn't good. Not good at all and definitely not the answer he was hoping for. She turned and walked away from him, but he caught her before she got to the door. "Apparently you did have something else in mind. Look, Lois, if you think I'm going too fast..."_

"_Clark, get out of my way." She looked him in the eye and she looked hurt. Why would she look hurt? He took a step back so she could go by, but he couldn't let her go silently. He at least needed to know she'd be safe tonight._

"_Where are you going?"_

"_I'm going to Chloe's to see if she'll lend me one of the beds in her penthouse tonight. You... I can't. I'll see you at work tomorrow."_

_He watched her walk out and listened to her footsteps as she left the restaurant. Chloe's hotel was about half a block away, so he followed her with his x-ray vision, seeing her get safely into Chloe's room and stopping there. _

_Looking down at the ring, Clark closed the box with an audible snap that resonated through the room that had very recently made him hopeful for his future with Lois. Now he didn't know what was going to happen. Unable to think of anything else, he uttered a word he'd said only a handful of times before in his life._

"_Fuck."_

_- - -_

Lois frowned as Clark handed her a phone.

"What's this for?"

"You want to know what you and Chloe talked about, right? She's a much better source for that information."

She shrugged, unable to find a whole in his argument and dialed Chloe's phone. A couple rings went by before her cousin picked up. "Hey, Lo. What's up?"

"You're all by your lonesome now, right?"

"Right, and thanks for the sensitivity."

"My pleasure. Would you mind relating the story of what we talked about the night of November 13th, 2016?"

"Is that where you're at now? Sure, I guess I can pry myself away from these exciting crime statistics and give you the inside information."

---

_Chloe was flipping channels, trying to find something that would last a couple hours and leave her tired enough to fall asleep at the end, if not knock her out part of the way through. She finally found something sappy and slow when there was a knock at the penthouse doors. She checked the time and wondered who the hell would be knocking. As far as she knew, Lois and Clark were the only ones that knew she was here._

_She pushed herself up off the couch and walked over to the door, checking the peep hole to see who it was. She was surprised to find Lois on the other end. Quickly unlocking the door, she opened it up to find an angry yet teary Lois at her door. _

"_Can I stay with you tonight, Chlo?"_

_She stepped out of the way of the doorway, ushering Lois in. "Of course, Lo. What the hell happened?"_

"_The jackass proposed to me, that's what happened. You got anything to drink?"_

_Chloe sighed and kicked the door shut behind her. She walked over to the phone and picked it up, dialing room service._

"_How may we help you, Mrs. Wayne?"_

"_Will you please bring up a bottle of champagne?"_

"_Of course. It will be to your room in just a moment."_

"_Thank you." She dropped the phone back down, walking to the couch and sitting down next to Lois, who had splayed herself over most of the piece of furniture. "I'm guessing you didn't say yes."_

"_We've been together six months, Chloe! Six damn months! I couldn't even say I love you for the first one because I couldn't decide if I was making a huge mistake falling in love with him when I knew I was going to forget it all again."_

"_Obvious question, but what changed your mind?"_

"_He's Clark..." Lois waved her hand as if that explained everything. Fortunately Chloe had been around both of them enough to know what she meant. When there was another knock at the door, Chloe moved to get up but Lois beat her to it, nearly running over to the door. Chloe watched as she flung it open, grabbed the champagne and closed the door again. The top was quickly popped and Lois started drinking straight from the bottle._

"_Feel better?"_

_Lois shook her head, taking another gulp afterwards. She finally swallowed, taking a deep breath in. "Why is he doing this to me, Chloe? We are not ready for this! We've been together six months. That is not long enough to figure out if we're compatible enough for marriage!"_

"_It hasn't been just six months for him, Lo."_

"_Do you think I don't know that? Hell, that's another problem with all this. He still thinks of me as the Lois Lane I was this time last year. I know he says he understands that I'm not the same person I was, but I don't think the message that comes out of his mouth is the one that occupies his brain." She took another big gulp of the champagne, shaking her head as she swallowed._

"_I love him. That's out there for the whole world to see, but he doesn't love me for who I am now, he loves me for the picture of me that he has in his head." She finished off her statement with another swig of the champagne._

"_Lois, I know that your head and your heart are fighting on this, but let me present a rational argument, if you'll listen to it." Lois made a circling motion with her hand, which Chloe assumed was the go ahead. "Ok, so, you love him, right?"_

"_Right."_

"_And he loves you, correct?"_

"_Like a horny teen loves porn."_

"_And apparently we're on the odd metaphor portion of the night. I'll take that as a yes, though, which leads me to this question: is how you think Clark loves you and how Clark actually loves you the same thing?" _

"_Of course it isn't, Chloe! I think I would know how a man loves me, wouldn't you?"_

"_Yes, because he's the type of guy that tells you that sort of thing."_

"_He still loves me for who I was!"_

"_He loves you for who you are now as well as who you were. If you were in his shoes, would you love him for who he was now and completely forget the love you had not that long ago?"_

"_How the hell should I know? What I do know is that I want him to love me for who I am and not what he thinks I might be again. Is it so much to ask that he love me for me? It may seem pretty selfish, but it does kind of matter."_

"_Lois, he and I talked about this while you were getting ready. All he cares about is that he loves you and you love him. That's it. He's just a guy that loves you enough to want to marry you. Is that enough for you?"_

_In response, Lois took another drink of the champagne, then sighed when she tipped the bottle over and nothing came out of it. She took a few steps backwards before turning around and tossing the bottle in a garbage can as she walked to the unoccupied room, closing the door behind her. Chloe just sighed, turning off the television and tossing the remote on the couch._

_Chloe was sitting on the couch, talking to Bruce on the phone when she heard a door open behind her. She'd been debating on whether or not she should wake her cousin up, finally settling on not doing it and calling in for her to Perry. Considering she'd downed a bottle of champagne in about twenty minutes, the over sleeping wasn't a surprise. She told Bruce she loved him before hanging up and watching Lois walk into the room._

"_Morning, cuz. How'd you sleep?"_

"_Like a rock after the throwing up. Apparently I can't drink champagne that quickly anymore."_

"_You could never drink it that quickly, Lo. Every time you tried I ended up holding your hair back so that you wouldn't throw up in it."_

"_Good times."_

"_You bet."_

_Lois laid down on the couch, placing her head in Chloe's lap. Chloe ran a hand through Lois's hair like she would Jack's, figuring she needed the same kind of simple, unspoken reassurances._

"_I overreacted, didn't I?"_

"_I think you were due for one. You'd been extremely understanding about things for months now, and that's just not you." She was going to stop talking there, but Lois might not get at that she was joking this morning. "That's a joke, by the way. The being due for one, not the extremely understanding."_

"_Did I screw everything up?"_

"_I doubt you could ever do that with Clark. The man loves you too much. He might be a little hurt that you ran out on him after he proposed instead of staying and talking things through, but I think that talking to him will solve that. If not now, sometime today."_

"_I need to call Perry and tell him I'm not coming in today."_

"_Taken care of. Called in for you an hour ago."_

_Lois smiled up at her. "Thank you. Despite the fact that you're my younger cousin, I enjoy the mothering I seem to be getting."_

"_What can I say? I guess I just don't mind taking care of the people I love."_

"_I appreciate it."_

"_Hey, did I tell you that Bruce and I are trying for another baby?"_

_Lois sat up slowly, rubbing a hand over her face. She turned so that she was facing the same direction as Chloe and turned her head to smile at her. "You want a little girl, don't you?"_

"_I wouldn't mind that, no. The thought of a little girl just like me scares the hell out of me, though. I remember myself as a kid from about the age of five on, and... well, you know."_

"_I do. You were adorable, and aside from being seriously inquisitive the perfect daughter."_

"_Ha! That's only what you saw of me. I could be a terror when I set my mind to it. Why do you think I was an only child?" _

"_I could answer that, but will abstain since my parents had a second child before they realized what a handful I was." Lois reached over and took Chloe's hand in hers. "I'm really happy for you, Chlo. You're a great mother and any children you may have will be lucky to have you."_

_Chloe pulled Lois into a hug, not knowing how else to express the feelings she felt. She blinked away a tear, smiling into her cousins shoulder. "Thank you. I know you'll make a great mother someday too."_

"_Ha! To quote John Wayne in The Searchers, 'That'll be the day.'"_

_Chloe didn't believe her, but she didn't bother to go forth with her opinion. Knowing Lois, pushing the subject would only send her further into denial. There was also the whole issue of trying to get Lois to accept that Clark wanted to marry her for her, and that this was not a bad thing._

"_So, what are you going to do about Clark?"_

_Lois sighed and leaned over, resting her face in her hand. "Talk to him."_

"_When?"_

"_Tonight."_

"_Good decision."_

_Lois looked over at her, smirking. "Thanks, mom."_

"_It's what I'm here for."_

_- - -_

"Champagne in twenty minutes?" Lois frowned and sighed. "I loved thinking I could pull that off."

"And yet you never could. Alright, now that you're informed, I'll leave you to Clark. I have a feeling I'll be hearing from you again, though. Love you."

"Love you too, Chlo." Lois hung up the phone, turning back to Clark. "Seems it's your turn again. What came next?"

"We talked."

"How... exciting?"

---

_Clark landed on the balcony, slipping inside the bedroom. He looked around, and finding it still empty, sighed and did a quick change into jeans and a t-shirt. He walked out into the living room and plopped down on the couch, searching for the remote. He found it under a pillow and turned the TV on, flipping to the Monday Night Football. Steelers vs. Eagles seemed like it should be a good game._

_He tossed the remote on the coffee table and pushed himself up off the couch, walking out into the kitchen and grabbing a beer out of the fridge. The alcohol didn't do anything to him, but he didn't mind the taste, and since it was Lois's he could think on the good times instead of the fact that he may have screwed everything up._

_He was looking forward to when she was going to come into work, but then when Perry had told him that Chloe had called in for her, his heart had sank. It wasn't as bad as if she'd called in herself, since she hated doing that unless she was so sick she couldn't move, but it still wasn't good. He figured that there had been heavy drinking after she'd gotten to the room. He just hoped she wasn't feeling too bad when she woke up._

_After that, the day had inched by. Every other minute was him second guessing his decision to propose so soon. He just wanted to talk to her, make sure that they were going to be ok. The saves he'd made hadn't been too intense, but he'd almost welcomed them to keep his mind off of Lois. After that, he'd felt like an ass for being glad that people needed to be saved._

_Clark downed the beer, tossing the bottle into the recycling bin before grabbing another. _

"_I could use one of those too, ya know."_

_Clark spun around, finding Lois standing in the doorway. "Lois..." He walked over to her and pulled her into a hug, still holding the beer in one hand. "I've wanted to talk to you all day."_

"_I know. I wanted to talk, too, but I didn't know what to say. I spent most of the daylight hours walking around trying to figure that very thing out."_

"_It's been dark for two hours, Lois."_

"_I know. I spent all that time in the dive by the Planet eating half a dozen baskets of fries and a couple cheeseburgers."_

"_How'd that work out for you?"_

"_Ask me tomorrow." She fidgeted for a second before speaking again. "I want you to love me for who I am and not who I was. She's not coming back and that's not going to change, no matter how much you want it to."_

"_I know, Lo. I love you because you're you. Admittedly, I wish you remembered what we had, but I know you don't and I see you for who you are. If I didn't I'd be living in a dream world and there, you wouldn't have memory loss."_

"_It's not ever going to be the same as it was, Clark."_

"_If I wanted to have the same thing forever, I wouldn't want to marry you."_

"_Very funny." She reached over and took the beer out of his hand, opening it and taking a long drink. "That's better. So, are we going to be alright even though the marriage thing isn't happening?"_

"_We'll always be alright, Lo, so long as we're together."_

"_That's really cheesy, Smallville."_

"_I know."_

_They walked over and sat down on the couch, snuggling up close to each other as they watched the football game. After the Steelers won the game, they called it a night and headed to bed. They were laying down together when Clark felt he needed to ask her something._

"_I hate to ask this..."_

"_Then you have good reason not to."_

"_Be that as it may, do you want to get married? Not in the sense of me proposing, but just as in... ever."_

_Lois sat up slowly, looking at him. "I've asked myself that question every minute since you proposed to me yesterday. Do you want the simple answer or the complicated answer?"_

"_I guess I'll venture the complicated."_

"_I don't know if it's fair to myself to marry you."_

_Clark scratched at his shoulder in a useless gesture then rubbed a hand up over his face and back through his hair. "That is complicated. I have no idea what it means."_

"_What it means is that I'm not making a decision like this just for me. I'm making this decision for any me that wakes up without her memory in the future. If I marry you, that won't change. I'll be married to you forever, or until one of us divorces you because it's too much to handle. I don't want to do that to myself, and I certainly don't want to do that to you._

"_I know that I made the fact that you wanted to get married all about you not being able to differentiate between who I was and who I am, and that was heavily on my mind, but this is the real issue. That was, in essence, a stall, so I could think about this, and I still don't know where I stand on it. That would be something unbelievable to wake up to, literally meaning I wouldn't believe it. In 2008 you weren't even somebody I would have considered."_

_She stopped talking and covered her face with her hands. Clark placed a hand on her back, hoping to bring about some calm so that she wouldn't feel so overwhelmed by the decision. He shouldn't have pushed this on her._

"_I'm sorry about all this, Lo. I should never have proposed. I wasn't thinking about what it would do to you in the future, just what it would do for us now. You'd think I'd be better at the forward thinking by now."_

"_Don't be so hard on yourself, Clark. The reason I thought of it was because I HAVE to think of these things. I have to keep in mind that I am going to forget, and all my actions now will have to be explained in the future. You're seeing things from a different perspective, though. Where I want to take care of me in the future, you want to take care of me now. I love you for that._

"_What it all comes down to, though, is that waking up and finding out I'm married to you is a whole hell of a lot different than waking up to find out we got engaged the night before. It makes everything I'm going through even more real and hard to believe at the same time. As much confidence as I have in myself to handle things, even I have my limit."_

_Clark laid back down. What he was hearing was starting to scare him. He wished he'd never asked the question, but now he had to take this all the way._

"_That sounds a lot like a no to the ever wanting to get married."_

"_It's not about what I want." She laughed, and he could tell it was mirthless. "God, nothing has ever been about what I want." He watched her wipe away the tears that had started falling down her cheeks._

"_What do you want, Lo?"_

"_I want to marry you. I love you so much, Clark, and I want to marry you, but I can't. It won't be fair to myself." She shook her head and laid back down, her head resting against Clark's arm. "Leave it to me to find a way to deny myself happiness."_

_Clark sighed, and then found himself speaking without even realizing he had anything to say. _

"_We're not going to be able to ever have kids, are we?"_

"_Is it even genetically possible?"_

"_I don't know. But if you won't allow yourself to get married, what happens if there's an accident, like say the pill doesn't work, and you do end up pregnant? What would happen then?"_

"_I hadn't ever thought about it. Children are not something that come into my mind all that often. I don't know what I would do, though. That would blow waking up married out of the water, and both would be huge."_

_Clark sat up, bringing Lois with him and hugging her close. How had this happened? Two days ago they'd been happy. Things had been comfortable. Why couldn't he have left them at comfortable? Why did he always have to want more?_

"_I should leave."_

_He looked down at her, not believing what he'd just heard. "What?"_

"_This isn't going to work. This can't work. You want a family, and I can't provide that for you. I can't be your wife, and I can't be a mother to any children. That is asking for a ton of trouble before you factor in my crazy brain damage."_

_She got up out of the bed and started changing her clothes. When she grabbed a bag out of the closet, Clark popped up out of the bed. "You don't have to do this, Lo. I know this sounds cheesy, but love will get us through this. My mom loves that saying, and I believe it."_

"_I know she does, and I know you do, but... sometimes love is strong but the people aren't. I can be strong in this, and I have to be. Otherwise I don't know what will happen to us. At least this way we can be friends again. Once I forget..."_

"_Are you serious?"_

"_Once I forget again, Clark, be my friend. You'll have a blank slate to work with, and whatever you may think of me now, however much I'm hurting you now, when that happens I'll need my friend."_

_Clark didn't know if he'd ever felt more pain in his life. It was like he could feel the pieces of his heart falling away as she tossed all her clothes into the bag. As he watched her toss the plaid shirt of his she'd taken to wearing to bed lately go into the bag, he'd have sworn he lost a ventricle._

_He wanted to say something. He wanted to say anything that would stop her, but he didn't know what to say. 'Don't worry, everything will work itself out somehow.' If only. He heard her zip up her bag and looked at her face, her eyes teary but resolute._

"_I'm sorry, Clark."_

"_I am too, Lo. Where are you going?"_

"_I'll stay with Chloe again tonight, and after that... who knows."_

"_Will I see you again?"_

"_Hopefully, before I forget. If not..." She walked up to him and pulled him down a little, planting a soft, wet kiss on him. "I love you, Smallville."_

_He just stood there as she shouldered her bag and walked out. Turning around, he walked out onto the balcony and sat down, his back to the railing. He looked up at the sky, staring at the stars visible through the ambient light of the city a second before bringing his gaze back down to stare at the wall. It used to have a chair in front of it, but now it was empty, just like him. Poor wall._

_- - -_

Lois grabbed the phone from Clark and started dialing Chloe's number again. "This would be a lot more suspenseful if I didn't know how we ended up, Smallville." Lois finished dialing and Chloe picked up after only one ring.

"My turn again, Lois?"

"Yup."

---

_Again with the knocking! Who the hell was going to be at her door this time, and why were they going to be there after midnight? She pulled the hair back out of her face and looked through the peep hole, one again finding her cousin on the other end. Sighing, she opened the door, figuring Clark had proposed again and Lois had found something else to freak out about._

"_What's going on... and why do you have a duffel bag with you?"_

_That was when she noticed just how red and puffy Lois's eyes were. She calmed down on and took the bag from her cousin, guiding her in to the room and over to the couch, dropping the duffel on the way there._

"_What happened, Lo?"_

"_We're done. Clark and I can't be together anymore."_

"_What? Why?"_

"_It's not fair to him. I can't marry him, we can't have a family together... why are we going to be together if there's not going to be anything to it? I have to think of what's best for me when I wake up without my memory... I can't be selfish and marry the man I love." She paused a second, struggling with keeping her breathing steady. "God, only I could have to utter that sentence."_

_Chloe watched Lois struggle with her breathing again for a second before breaking out into sobs. Chloe scooted over and pulled her into a hug, knowing she couldn't make things any better for her but hoping that she'd calm down a bit. After a few minutes she did, wiping at her eyes and cheeks._

"_I didn't.. I didn't know I could hurt this much, Chloe."_

"_I'm so sorry, Lo. I always thought you two would make it, no matter what."_

"_Of course we didn't, Chlo. Since when do I get to be happy?"_

_ 2 Weeks Later_

"_Lois! Hey, Lois!"_

_Chloe jogged through the newsroom, dodging a couple people before catching up to Lois. "Hey! How's the first day going?"_

_Lois smiled at her weakly, scratching at her neck while she flipped through some pages. "Not too bad. Got the 'Welcome to the team!' speech from George, but it seemed like he was a little too enthusiastic."_

"_You're Lois Lane; of course he was enthusiastic. When Bruce told him that you were going to be working here he gave everybody the day off. Then he remembered that doesn't work with a newspaper, so he bought lunch for everyone on the floor. Point is, he was happy about you coming to the paper. Probably thinks you'll score an interview with Batman."_

"_Yeah, well, he's in for a rude awakening." She paused a second before smiling much more genuinely. "Thank you, again, for convincing Bruce to let me work here."_

"_Convince? When I told him what had happened between you two, he was the one who thought of it. He had this wild idea that you would end up in Timbuktu if we didn't keep you nearby."_

_Lois cocked an eyebrow at her. "Was it also his idea to give me a wing of the Wayne Manor to myself? Because it's overkill and I'm no mooch. I have plenty of savings that I can use to get an apartment."_

"_And I don't want my de facto sister living alone in a new city. You don't have to pay the inflated amount a Gotham apartment would run, you don't have to buy food and you have me to ride to work with every morning. What more could you want?"_

"_To not be mooching off my cousin."_

"_Tough. Your cousin has a husband that is an old friend of yours with more money than he or his wife could find use for. Trust me when I say you're not mooching. We are both happy to help you get a fresh start."_

"_And I thank you for that. You could let me stand on my own two legs, though."_

_Chloe bit her lip, but realized that was a dead giveaway she was hiding something and stopped promptly. Unfortunately, it hadn't been promptly enough and she saw Lois was looking at her with a quizzical expression. _

"_What are you not telling me?"_

_She winced. "I have alternate reasons for wanting you at the manor."_

_Lois sat back in her chair, giving her a look that made Chloe feel sorry for all the people that were interviewed by Lois Lane. "Alternate reasons?"_

"_Uh, yeah. I want you to keep staying at the manor with us because... because we don't know when you'll lose your memory again and I don't want you waking up all alone in a strange apartment in a strange city."_

_Lois was silent a moment before responding. "You could have just told me that. It makes perfect sense."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really. I'm lucky to have family that cares enough about me to think of something like that. With as much consideration as I've put into my future lately, I'm kind of surprised I didn't think of it. Guess I've been too focused on other things."_

_When she sighed, Chloe just wanted to pull her into a hug and tell her that everything was going to be ok, despite the fact that she'd had to abandon the man the she loved and the city she called home. Why did it all seem to happen to Lois?_

"_Chloe!"_

_She blinked a couple times, recovering her senses and looking over to Lois. "Yeah, what?"_

"_Did you hear what I asked?"_

_She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I kind of zoned out for a minute."_

"_Noticed that. I asked how Clark's doing."_

"_Really? You haven't asked about him since... well, since you left."_

"_I know, but I'm curious. No need for deep detail."_

"_He's lonely."_

_She sighed loudly. "I'm not surprised. He spent Thanksgiving alone in Metropolis." Chloe watched as Lois sat forward again, resting her face in her hands for a moment. "Tell me that I did the right thing, Chlo. Tell me that I left the most amazing man in the world, a man that loved me in spite of everything for the right reasons." _

"_You did what you had to do, Lo. You did what you thought was right for your future."_

"_Do you think I did the right thing?"_

"_I don't know if I'd have had the strength to do what you did were I in your position. It was... courageous."_

"_You didn't say if you thought it was the right thing to do."_

"_It doesn't matter what I think at this point, because it's already done."_

_Lois ran a hand through her hair and closed her eyes for a second. "I need to get moving on this article. I'll... I'll talk to you later." She leaned over and placed a kiss on Chloe's forehead and walked off. Chloe watched her go, feeling like she could burst into tears._

_Three Weeks Later_

"_What? Why not?"_

"_Are you really asking that?"_

"_Oh."_

_Chloe watched Lois's face fall and immediately wished she'd made a better choice of words. They'd been discussing what the Christmas plans were with the holiday being six days away, and since Clark had only informed her that he wasn't going to be coming a couple days ago, she'd decided it was time to break the news to Lois. _

"_I can't believe I haven't seen him in over a month. God, what the hell happened? We were so happy... no, that road just leads to self-pity and brooding. I made a decision, and I have to deal with the consequences. Topic change: any luck making a sibling for Jack?"_

"_Not this month. It'll happen, though, I'm sure."_

"_Me too." Lois smiled and shook her head. "It's crazy what can happen in a year. I woke up without my memory, nearly left the Daily Planet, fell in love with Clark of all people, was really happy, turned thirty, was happy for a couple more months and had everything fall to shit. And now I'm spending Christmas with my cousin, her wonderful son and a husband that is trying to knock her up again."_

_Chloe rolled her eyes and pushed Lois lightly. "He is not trying to 'knock me up,' Lo. That sounds like two animals going at it. We are trying to conceive a child by expressing our love to one another." Pausing a second, she decided that didn't sound right either. "Ok, maybe we're somewhere in between the rutting animals and my cheesy romance novel attempt at a description."_

"_Whatever. That's as much as I want to know about how you two go about rutting, conceiving or whatever it is you're doing. I know my little cousin has a son, but I still like to think of you as the girl in pigtails that liked to investigate the weird stories. Jesus, I think back on that and I have no idea how we got where we are."_

"_Luck. Fate. Love. All of the above."_

"_I miss love. God, I miss Clark, and after being with him for six months I really miss the..."_

"_Rutting?"_

"_Well, yeah, but I was going to say comfort."_

"_Ha! You're still an awful liar."_

_Lois sighed. "I know. You'd think I could have acquired a poker face sometime in the last eight years. I mean, seriously, when I woke up without my memory, I had trouble falling asleep for the first few weeks. I couldn't ever figure out why until Clark and I got together. When I laid my head on his chest, it was like I had taken a sleeping pill. I was out. _

"_I had fallen asleep on him like that so often before I forgot that I had the muscle memory of it. It didn't matter that my head didn't remember it because my muscles did, and not having him there with me just wrought havoc on my ability to fall asleep. When I realized that after a few nights of falling asleep on him... God was I pissed._

"_I realized that I had become dependent on him. And it wasn't just the fact that it was him, it was the fact that it was anybody. Lois Lane doesn't need anybody or anything. She's her own woman, the end. But Clark... he'd ripped down my walls and I'd been so into it, so in love with him that my body had become used to him being there with me. It was the norm. When I really thought about it, I realized just how big a thing that was for me. It wasn't something to rave about, it was something to enjoy._

"_And so I did. I had six of the best months I can remember. And then it ended for reasons that I can't seem to cope with. They're good reasons, smart reasons, but they're tearing me apart, and they're taking Clark away from the people he loves, away from his family. How is that fair? If anybody should be alone, it's me. But nobody should have to be alone on Christmas. Hell, nobody should have to be alone period."_

_She was so close that Chloe could taste it. She desperately wanted to interrupt and yell 'Duh!' at her but knew that it would kind of ruin this whole revelation thing Lois had going on, so she held back._

"_Why the fuck am I alone, Chloe? Clark is the greatest man I'll ever know and he loves me more than he loves pie. Not that I can blame him, really, since I'm tastier."_

"_That's naughty."_

"_Not what I meant, but also true. Christ, what the hell am I doing here?" _

_Chloe watched Lois jump up and look around the room a second before pausing and taking a deep breath. "Ok, I need a plan. Chloe, will you have the Wayne jet fueled up for me. I need to go to Metropolis. I'm going to get my things..."_

"_Why don't you just call for him to come here?"_

"_Because he would, Chloe, and I need to show him that I'm coming back to him, not saying he can be with me again. God, I hope he'll take me back." Chloe scoffed and Lois looked at her. "What?"_

"_I think my scoff was statement enough. Now grab your things and get your ass to Metropolis!"_

_Lois grinned and started walking towards the front door, then stopped and spun around to face Chloe again. "I'm sorry that I had to be so cliché in my big speech and realization."_

"_It happens to the best of us, now go!"_

_Lois grinned at her again and spun away, walking towards the door and exiting the manor. Chloe threw her arms up in the air and did a little dance. It was about damn time. She then realized what she was doing, stopped and walked off to find Bruce so she could give him a good rut... err, expression of love._

---

"Thanks, Chloe. Also, hearing you say rutting is strange."

"Anytime, Lo. Enjoy the rest of your story."

Lois shut the phone and looked to Clark. "Alright, Smallville, finish her up."

"Yes, ma'am."

---

_Clark stared at the television, trying to decide what he would watch. The pathetic little Christmas tree next sitting next to the TV drew his eye, though, taunting him with its blinking lights and attempts at merriness. He hadn't been able to stop himself from buying a little tree, no matter how much he wanted to just forget that it was Christmas. Stupid hope always got the best of him._

_He skimmed the channels the old fashioned way, actually running through them one by one. He liked that there was a channel guide but it didn't occupy him like channel surfing did. It wasn't about finding something to watch so much as giving himself something to kill time, even if it only took a couple minutes to find that there was nothing on any of the thousand channels or so. Apparently some things never changed, no matter how many channels were added._

_When he stumbled upon 'A Charlie Brown Christmas,' though, he stopped. This had been a staple of his childhood, and was one of his first Christmas memories. He and his dad had sat down with cups of hot chocolate while his mom was shuffling between the living room and kitchen, checking on them and the food as much as she could. Dad had held him tight through the story, ruffling his hair and telling him to listen closely when Linus had spoken about the true meaning of Christmas. _

_Mom had joined them on the couch then, leaning over and resting her face against his. When Linus had finished his speech, she'd placed a gentle kiss on his cheek and told him that she loved him. Then his dad had taken the remnants of his hot chocolate and placed it on the coffee table before pushing it out of the way and telling him it was time for the final tree decoration._

_They'd decorated the tree earlier when dad had come in from working for the day. The tree was a good two feet taller than his father had been, which had made it seem all the more huge to him when his dad seemed like the biggest thing possible. They'd done all the decorations but the angel that went on top, his dad telling him that was something that happened at a special time._

_His dad had placed the angel in his hands and lifted him up high so that he could place the angel on top of the tree. When he did so, he was let down and mom had walked over from the kitchen and picked him up. Dad had leaned over and placed a kiss on th top of his head as his mom ran a hand across his back. They'd both told him they loved him more than anything, and in response he'd yawned. He remembered rubbing at his eye as mom had put him to bed, saying they would bake some cookies tomorrow._

_God, that had been so long ago. Life had been so simple then._

_Clark turned the television off and tossed the remote on the coffee table with a sigh, barely noticing when it clanged against the glass. He could remember being happy like it was yesterday... or more accurately, six weeks or so ago. It seemed such a foreign concept now. He'd barely realized that it was Thanksgiving after Lois left, telling Chloe that he was going to spend it in Metropolis the night before, when he was supposed to go to Gotham._

_If he had seen her then, it would have been pouring salt on his open chest wound. A whole damn container of salt, slowly and painfully. _

_He hadn't planned on spending Christmas in Metropolis. He knew that Jack was going to be disappointed, and he hated doing that to his nephew, but even with the time that had passed he couldn't say he felt any better. After the way his heart had shattered, he still hadn't found one of his ventricles or the aorta. _

_Pushing himself up off the couch, Clark walked out onto the balcony, clad only in a pair of boxers and t-shirt. He hadn't had the inclination to change into anything else after saving a couple people right after work, then showering to wash some soot off himself. It was hard being Superman now when it had been so easy before. He never knew just how vital Lois had been to keeping him strong enough to help all the people that needed it._

_Now, he just wanted to go to sleep at night and close his hearing off so that he could have some peace. He never did, but until Lois had left, he'd never wanted to either. He didn't know how he was going to make the appearances at a couple of orphanages on Christmas day and manage to look hopeful and confident... to look like Superman. Hopefully the children wouldn't notice his slumping shoulders and lack of a will to live._

_Looking at the sky, Clark realized that it was a shade of gray that matched exactly how he felt. He was simply existing now, with nothing to drive him. Hope for the future had left him with Lois._

_He'd really wanted to be angry at her. It would have been so easy, too, if she wasn't so damn lovable. He knew he would always love her and only her. And when she forgot again, he'd be her friend because she'd asked him to be. But he would always have the memories of how good they were together, of how they complimented each other in every fashion. Things like what they had didn't happen by chance. As much as he'd always hated the concept of fate, he'd thought they were fated._

_But no, fate had finally smacked him upside the head as he'd always thought it would. The loneliness he'd always expected had finally caught up to him and embraced him like an old lover. He figured this was why normal people in the world lost contact with most of their old lovers. How he was going to be her friend and not try to strike up their relationship again, he didn't know, but it's what she wanted. That was enough._

_Walking back inside, he shook a couple snow flakes out of his hair and collapsed back onto the couch. He let his head loll to the side as he stared at the wall instead of the ceiling, having already stared at it for the first few weeks after Lois had left._

_He wished that there had been poor logic in her reasons for leaving, but there wasn't. She had to be mindful of what she was going to wake up to in the future, so to speak, and as much as he wanted to find a flaw in it, the cold, heartless logic was flawless. The cold, heartless logic had also been what caused his loss of heart pieces, but it was just logic. Being mad at it would have been illogical, though satisfying._

_Clark let his eyelids slide shut for a second and was greeted by a vision of Lois, smiling at him as she stood up on her toes to give him a deep, sensual kiss. His eyes flew open, knowing that thinking about things like that would only lead to further... oh hell, he would call it what it was: brooding. But at least he had a good reason for it this time, so he wasn't counting it as such._

_Clark took a deep breath in and released it, staring at the wall some more until there was a knock on the door. He sped into some pants and put his glasses on, wondering why anybody would bother him when all those closest to him were nowhere near. Yawning as he walked over to the door, he shook it off as he opened the door._

"_Merry Christmas, Smallville."_

_His mouth, having just closed, sprung back open as he found Lois on the other side of the door. Shaking his head, he closed his mouth. He knew that she knew he'd been wallowing, but he could still act cool despite that. He wondered how long it would take her to see through it. _

"_Lois? What brings you to Metropolis?"_

"_Christmas. I thought that was inferred in my previous statement."_

"_Oh, yeah. Come on in."_

_She walked right past him, dropping her stuff where she always had. He figured that it was just force of habit after having lived there for most of the past year. _

"_So, uh, how have you been?"_

"_Ok. I got my own wing of the manor, which at first was weird but turned out to be kinda cool. How have you been? Anything interesting happen lately?"_

"_You know, just the usual. Go to work, save people, write story, save people, go home, save people, sleep, save people, lather, rinse and repeat." Why the hell had he just said lather, rinse and repeat?_

"_Lather, rinse and repeat?"_

"_Yeah, I was kind of wondering about that myself. It wasn't in my original statement."_

"_I guess we all say some crazy things we don't plan on saying."_

"_Happens to everyone, I'm sure."_

"_I realized it had happened to me, recently."_

_Did she just say what he thought she'd said? It seemed that way, but what if she'd been talking about something else? Dig a little deeper, maybe..._

"_You know what I mean, right? This whole break up thing... whole bunch of crazy I never planned or wanted to say that got out anyway. Was thinking with my head instead of my heart. Tendency I've had for a long time."_

_Good digging, even if he hadn't asked a question. "Yeah, I hoped that was what you meant, but you can be unpredictable sometimes." _

_She shed her coat and tossed it on the couch before walking over to him and standing barely a foot away. When she looked up into his eyes, he felt hope again. God, he'd missed hope._

"_It's been tearing me up inside, Clark. I realized while flying over here that the best way to look out for my future is for that future to be with you. I could never have a better guardian in my life than the man I love more than I thought I was able to."_

_She paused a second and he just about fell over from happiness at what he was hearing._

"_Can you trust me with your heart again?"_

"_Well, I've been missing a ventricle and my aorta since you left, but oddly enough I think I just found them again and my heart's started to beat for the first time in far too long. My heart may have been broken, but I couldn't fault you for the reasons you did it. Airtight logic."_

"_Funny how my airtight logic screwed everything up. C'est la vie."_

"_C'est la vie, indeed." Clark leaned down and kissed her, grinning the whole time he did so. It felt good. It felt really good. He really hoped this was going where he hadn't let his earlier daydream go. They broke apart so that each could breathe, and Lois spoke first._

"_I want you to ask me again. Not now... surprise me."_

"_Like I could deny you anything. Consider yourself on surprise warning."_

_Six Days Later_

_Clark woke up to the feeling of gentle kisses across his bare shoulder. Smiling tiredly, he looked over to find a wide awake Lois working her way towards his collarbone. He peeked at the clock on the desk and groaned how early it was but realized they should head downstairs. As much as he wanted to continue where he thought they were headed, it was Christmas morning and there were things to do._

"_We should get downstairs, Lo. Jack has probably shredded through his, his parents and our presents by now."_

"_Good, means we can stay here instead of having to go down and open presents."_

"_As much as I would like to repeat last night-oh wow..." His voice trailed off as Lois bit lightly on his nipple, then licked it in a soothing gesture. She pushed herself up and looked him in the eyes while grinning wickedly._

"_I'm planning on wrapping one more thing today. Then there will be some bouncing for joy when the present is received, followed by cries of happiness and unwrapping. How's that sound?"_

_A couple hours later they walked downstairs hand in hand, neither able to erase the grin they'd brought to each other. Lois leaned into him a bit as they made they're way to the den where the tree and presents were. _

"_Where have you guys been?"_

"_We had some present exchanging we wanted to do in person," Lois said. Clark saw that Bruce just nodded and turned back to Jack, who was on a new bike. Chloe, on the other hand, was looking straight at him._

"_What?"_

_She tapped her left hand against her leg before shrugging. "Nothing, just thought you two would have been down a while ago." He gave her a discrete nod, smiling as he looked down at Lois. _

"_So, wanna open presents, Lo?"_

"_Sounds like fun." They walked over to the tree, grabbing the presents each had bought in the final days of hectic shopping in the city. Clark took the present Lois handed him. "You first."_

_He smiled and tore the wrapping paper off, finding an upside down movie disc inside. He flipped it over and gaped at what he saw._

"_I found it by chance. I had no idea what to get you, but Chloe told me what that meant to you recently..."_

"_I can't believe you found 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' for me, Lo."_

"_Like I said, happy accident." Clark just grinned a second before realizing what he was doing and handing her his present. He sat the movie down and watched as she smiled in recognition of what she was holding. "I had a feeling you might do this today, Smallville." She tore the wrapping paper off to uncover a ring box. She quickly flipped it open, but her face fell and she looked up at him._

"_See, I wanted it to be a surprise, and what better day for a surprise than Christmas, right? But having you unwrap the ring just seemed too silly, even for me." He pulled the ring out of his pants pocket, and her eyes lit up. "Do you know how hard it was to find an empty ring box? Mom lost the one for this ring years ago, so I finally had to borrow one from Chloe."_

_Clark got down on one knee, smiling up at Lois. "Will you marry me, Lois?"_

"_Yes, yes, so many times yes." _

_He slid the ring on her finger and leaned down, kissing her as deeply as he could with Jack in the room, even if he was distracted._

"_Finally."_

_Everyone looked over at Bruce, who looked at all of them in turn. "You two were meant for each other. I'm glad you finally get to experience the same joy Chloe and I have."_

"_Right, no exasperation in that finally at all."_

"_None. I'm sincerely happy for the both of you."_

_Lois answered before he could. "Thank you, Bruce."_

_A blonde blur jumped on and attached itself to them, hugging each with surprising power. "Let me reiterate his finally with a little more gusto: FINALLY!" She kissed each on the cheek, grinning like crazy. "So, when's the wedding?"_

"_Oh good lord. I'm going to have a maid of honor-zilla, aren't I?"_

"_Yes, and you'll love it."_

"_I always have been a glutton for punishment. Just look at who I'm marrying... holy crap, I'm getting married."_

_Clark looked over at Lois, one eyebrow raised. "I did just propose, Lo."_

"_I know, but it took a minute to sink in. Holy... hey, I'm marrying the man I love..." She broke out into a giant smile and jumped into his arms, kissing him like crazy. God, he loved this woman._

---

Lois was laying on the bed, tracing circles around her exposed navel while she looked at Clark, who was next to her. "You were right, that was really long. Took longer than eight hours to get though."

"I probably could have split it up into a couple parts so we could have gone to bed earlier, but when I did that last time I started in the wrong place and everything got muddled up in your head. It wasn't worth the trouble."

"And my head is muddled enough, so I appreciate the fact that you muddled it no more. Now, AJ and I say sleep." She slid herself over, laying her head in the crook of his shoulder and smiled. "Goodnight, Smallville."


	45. Chapter 45

--- Chapter 45

Staring at her computer screen, Lois tilted her head to the side a bit to see if that helped out her thought process any. When it didn't, she titled it over to the other side, hoping to find inspiration in a view of her monitor slightly askew the other way. It worked just as well as the first attempt did.

Nothing had happened all day. It was disgusting. It may have been the most boring Monday she could remember. Clark had been needed once, which was why she was currently alone at work at 4:30 in the afternoon, and the save wasn't even in Metropolis. The League had called and asked for Superman's help out west somewhere. Whatever it was, she wasn't privy to it and it wasn't making major headlines.

Perry had given them a puff piece to type up for the Tuesday morning edition, but she just could not find the words to describe the heroism of a cat that had chased off a burglar. It wouldn't happen. Much the way nothing would happen in the world, nothing useful would happen in her head. It was deflating, to say the least, but she had to get the nonsense done. She couldn't even bug Chloe because she'd sequestered herself in her office to finish up her stats.

Lois and Clark had moved into their new office today. It was great, offering a view of the city that most places couldn't match. When they'd arrived they'd had to move their stuff in, and bam, it was all theirs. They'd christened it with a good long kiss, though Lois had wanted to take it further. Unfortunately, Clark had been reasonable, arguing that the office folk didn't need a show.

On a day like this, they really did.

Lois gave an obligatory knuckle crack before she set her fingers to the keyboard, typing out about how Whiskey the cat had been brave in the face of danger, despite having a gun pulled on him. The fact that a cat couldn't recognize a gun apparently was not important. She closed her eyes, thinking only about the facts of the article as she let her fingers do the talking.

When she let her eyes slide open again, she found an article worth printing on her computer screen. The 'ol type something and hope it works routine never failed her. Lois didn't bother to check her spelling, figuring Perry needed something to do, and grabbed her purse. Enough was too much, even for her. Nothing was going to happen today, and that meant she wasn't needed.

The phone rang once and Lois grumbled before picking it up. "Lois Lane, Daily Planet."

Silence. "Hello?" There was a click on the other end and Lois just set the phone down, wondering who it was. If it was important, the caller could talk to her tomorrow.

After yelling to Perry she was taking off for the day, Lois walked the three feet to Chloe's door and knocked a couple times before entering.

"You don't knock on Perry's door but you do mine? I'm honored, Lo," Chloe said as she stood up. "What brings you to my humble office?"

"Cutting out. It's been as slow a day as I can remember for news, so I'm heading home. Wanted to see if you were heading out soon too, or if you were going to keep yourself buried in the numbers."

"It's numbers for me. I want this part of it over with. Also, I'm kind of relishing the fact that I can sit for long periods of time still. Give me a few months and I'll be up every fifteen or twenty minutes to empty my bladder, which I assume will be getting very compressed by then."

"Sounds like a party."

"Yeah, it'll be a one baby conga line in my stomach with every kick not hitting my ribs hitting my bladder. You're going to love it when Almond Joy has his own dance going."

Lois rolled her eyes, but grinned anyway. "I'm sure I will. You going to do dinner with us later tonight?"

"Ummm... sure, sound like a plan. Want me to call you when I'm leaving so you can order then, or just want me to bring something with?"

"Call. We'll discuss what sounds good to everybody and then just get whatever you, Jordan and I want."

"The usual. I like it. Talk to you later."

Lois gave a wave goodbye as she left Chloe's office and headed for the elevator. Forty five minutes later, she was dropping her coat on the back of a chair and her purse in it, heading for the bedroom. Damn traffic jams.

Now, though, was as good a time as any for the diary. Grabbing it out of the drawer, she walked back out to the living room before opening it.

When she did find the next entry, she frowned when she read that date. Had she forgotten about the diary or something? Figuring the only way to figure it out was to read the thing, she settled back a little bit and started in on it.

June 14th, 2018

Beware the Ides of March.

No, seriously.

Looking in here, it strikes me as strangely poetic that the day after I profess to looking forward to motherhood in this diary, I lose my memory. That's the reason I didn't write in April or May; I lost my memory for the third time on March 15th, 2018.

I was not amused to wake up and find that my stomach was distended. I had no idea what could have happened in the span of one night, which of course turned out to be the span of ten years, nine months and eight days from the last day I remembered. That's a ridiculous amount of time to go by from when you thought you were waking up to when you are actually waking up. I assume that if it's happened again when you are reading this, it seems even more ridiculous.

So, what were the factors pertaining to the day before my memory loss?

It was a Monday. According to Clark, we woke up at normal time and made our way to work after having sex (he is really good at that, by the way). He actually talked about the sex without blushing, which gave me a good indication something had changed when I woke up that morning. Well, that and the fact that I was fifteen weeks pregnant and looked further along than that, even.

Anyway, once we got into work Perry sent us out pretty quick to cover an unplanned Lexcorp press conference. He was announcing plans on some new technical stuff he's doing with the city. It was being touted as the next big thing by the Star, but Clark and I took a more skeptical approach in our article I'm told. Lex had the mayor in his pocket then, much as he does now, so we figure this was just him making sure it stayed that way.

After that, Clark had to make a few saves as Superman, one of which was in the city and I got to cover. A tour bus rolled over after getting side swiped by a semi and he got people to the hospital ASAP. I got my quotes, one from him, some of the mildly injured passengers and the cops that had checked out the truck the driver. Turned out he'd been on amphetamines to stay awake on a long drive so his cargo would be on time. Tough luck for him.

After that, I had lunch in the office, according to Perry (Clark had gone to make saves outside that city at this time). He thinks it was Chinese but wasn't paying much attention to what I was eating, not that I can blame him. The man had a paper to run and didn't need to spend all his time watching a pregnant woman with brain damage. How could he have known what was going to happen?

He says I headed home about six. The next couple hours are a blank spot because Clark didn't get back until around eight after having a meeting with the Justice League. He says that when he got home, I had already downed the better part of a pizza, and he joined me in eating another.

We discussed his Superman stuff, saves and League, etc., before I apparently felt the need to eat some more in preparation for bed. I ate, we got into pajamas and went to sleep.

Now to the part I do remember.

I woke up to breakfast in bed. This is usually a great thing! I mean, what could be bad about having somebody bring you food in bed while pregnant? Trouble is, I had no idea what was going on. I turned over to see who had food in my room and when it Clark, with glasses on, I sat up. After a quick Q&A about what he was doing there, he asked me the date and I told him it was June 8th and to leave the food. No use in it going to waste, after all.

I got out of bed so as to usher him out of my room when I felt... heavy. I was definitely off balance from what I was expecting (pardon the pun). If there's a better way to describe waking up while pregnant and showing, I don't know what it is. I looked down, saw my baby encompassing stomach and then the confusion really began.

There was cursing, there was disbelief and there was questioning of sobriety (his, not mine). And then there was the kiss of death for my will fight: he had me look in the mirror, and I saw my scarred face. That was not a pleasant experience. I checked to see if it was a make-up job, but they didn't tear off.

After that, I sat down and Clark called Chloe to let her know what was going on. And then, they explained.

The attack. The coma. The first time I forgot. The Cinco de Mayo incident. The first proposal. The second time I forgot (the day after the proposal; how's that for timing). When I almost left the Planet, when we got together, when we ended and I did leave the Planet. When we subsequently got back together, the wedding, the twin's birth, telling Clark I was (am) pregnant... and now I've forgotten again.

Of course, him telling me all this took weeks on end, and somehow he ended up doing it all out of order. He told me about the first time he proposed before having Chloe tell me about the first time I forgot. I heard the story of our wedding before I heard about the Cinco de Mayo incident, for goodness sake!

It was a mess. Had me all sorts of confused until a couple weeks ago when I finally made a time line of everything to happen so far. I figured that, in case he has me all kinds of confused again and I've found this thing a lot sooner than I did this time, I would write it down to help you out:

- I'm attacked on June 7, 2008

- I wake up December 23, 2008

- Clark leaves for training with Jor-El August 30, 2009

- I forget the first time April 4, 2013 (4yrs, 4mos & 13 days since waking up)

- Clark returns/Chloe's wedding September 14, 2013

- The infamous first date October 5, 2013

- Jack born February 6, 2014

- Clark comes clean about his heritage/Cinco de Mayo incident May 5, 2014

- I forget the second time January 3, 2016 (2yrs, 8mos, 30 days since forgetting)

- Our wedding October 18, 2017

- Aly & Liz born December 1, 2017

- I tell Clark I'm pregnant February 7, 2018

- I forget for third time March 15, 2018 (2yrs, 2mos, 12 days since forgetting)

Feel free to update that as you want to. Hell, some of that may be news to you, really, because I doubt it took you as long to find this diary as it did me. As you can tell by today's date, it hasn't quite been three months since I forgot. I found this diary three days ago, I think. I've been reading when Clark isn't around because I like the idea of this being just for me, by me.

It's so nice to be able to see things with my own eyes. I love Clark more than I knew I could love anybody, and Chloe is an amazing cousin/sister (writing that makes it seem like there was incest, but you know what I mean) but not being able to know what happened in my own words, my own thoughts... it sucked and still sucks.

You get this, of course. You're probably reading this for the first time, zooming through the entries whenever you have some free time.

I assume the baby has been born. My baby girl... it's amazing how things can change, how things have to change in two and a half months. I never would have thought I could love something that exists solely inside me before I was attacked. I never thought I would be pregnant before I was attacked. Time has a funny way of making all our personal predictions look silly, I find.

Yet again, I find myself writing something that you probably figured out very quickly. I don't have the hang of this yet like I did before I forgot. It seems like it flowed for me then, but it had been a year and a half since I'd forgotten and I had probably been able to deal with all my disbelief by then.

I can't imagine how amazing my daughter must be. I just wish I could think of a good name. So far Clark has come up with the winner in Lainey, based upon Lane, of course, but it just seems too much of a nickname to me. I suggested Ella, after mom, but realized I didn't want to put that on her. She needs her own name so that she can be her own person.

Other names under consideration so far are Jamie, which has a nice feel to it without the nickname stigma like Lainey. Madeline, because it has a classical feel to it that I think goes well with the last name Kent. Darla, which was Clark's suggestion, and I'm fairly certain isn't happening. And finally, Jordana. I really like Jordana because it flows well with Kent for a last name, but something about it doesn't sit quite right.

Jordana Kent.

Jordana Sullivan Kent.

Jordan Sullivan Kent?

Ooh, that's good. That's real good. I'll have to talk to Clark about that.

And now that I have talked to him, I do believe that our daughter has a name: Jordan Sullivan Kent.

If you're wondering why we've decided to go with Sullivan as her middle name, it's because I love Chloe too much not to include her somehow. Clark already get his name in it, so I'm including our amazing cousin, too, because she's taken care of me almost as much as my husband has. We're not telling her until she's born, though. And reading that sentence, I mean we aren't telling Chloe, though the other interpretation is kind of silly. Despite that, I've already spoken to the baby about its middle name being Sullivan, and she agreed with a kick to my ribs. Feisty little thing.

On the topic of Clark, we really caught a break in the love department, didn't we? The man is amazing. He loves us for us, which is a feat unto itself considering how hot we are. Too many times it was guys staring at the boobs instead of looking us in the eye. You can insert your own seeing the nipples in a cold room joke here, because I know you're thinking of one.

Anyway, Clark is awesome. End of story. I could go into pages of elaboration, but you know it all by now or will figure it out soon enough. Enjoy it. I am.

She couldn't help but look back at the time line she now found she access to. It was a major help. She'd been able to keep track of what had happened in relation to other events, but she hadn't been able to keep the dates straight so she hadn't bothered learning them. Now, she could reference this when her memory was naturally shoddy as well as defective.

She hated to see that she had forgotten again, but she knew it had happened at some point. Lois had hoped to read about it, but she didn't know if she would get to, until now. Beware the Ides of March indeed.

She stretched out a little bit, flexing her toes as she yawned. Looking up at the clock, she saw that it would probably still be a little while before Clark brought Jordan home for the night. Looking at the television, she considered turning on a show but then looked back down at the diary. She hadn't yet read multiple entries at once, but now was as good a time as any.

She flipped the page and saw that a month had been skipped. Apparently losing her memory had meant that she was no longer going to be good about keeping the thing updated once a month.

August 15th, 2018

I have never been more uncomfortable in my life. I'm sure that when I was doing physical therapy after I woke up from the coma that I felt much worse in terms of pain, but this... this is the worst general discomfort that I can remember.

The major pain in all of this is my back. Sometimes it's not so bad, others it feels like I'm carrying an extra forty pounds, most of which is being held in front of me by my back muscles. Oh yeah, that's exactly what's going on, and it sucks. I have to use heating pads and have Clark give me massages daily just to avoid becoming super bitch.

I don't like being super bitch. It annoys me, which just make it all worse. I don't like targeting Clark with it, either, but when I feel like I need an outlet for my frustration he's always there. He just listens to the crazy, angry pregnant woman whine about her current state of being and then offers comforting words. He is far too patient with me after I tell him that all my discomfort is his fault for not taking a minute to find a condom.

He's been good enough in all my ranting and raving to not point out the fact that I got off the pill for who knows what reason. I really should ask him about that because I don't know why I would have stopped using it. He's told me that we weren't actively trying to get pregnant, but I'm starting to wonder if stopping the use of it was a move towards this very thing by my forgotten self.

Whatever the reason, I really wish I could remember so that I could have a little more mental comfort during all this physical discomfort. What exactly am I experiencing with who knows how long until I deliver?

Let's see...

The most common symptom these days is the fact that I am exhausted at all times. It's all kinds of fun to find myself ready to go to bed at seven in evening.

This is of course compounded by the fact that I cannot sleep through the night for the life of me. Between insomnia and having to get up every half hour to pee, I do not get near enough sleep. It's a strange concept in my mind. One would think that the body would be able to rest a little bit so that it does not get over fatigued before the birth. But no, for whatever reason, nature has it so that the end of pregnancy is the most exhausting. Way to go evolution.

With all the not sleeping, though, Clark has once again been great. He stays up with me when I can't get to sleep, and if I wake up to pee and then can't get back to sleep, he gets up too. I know that between being up with me, running errands for me, working at home and saving people Clark is stretched as thin as anybody, but somehow he manages. The guy is a dream.

Back on my discomfort, next up is being short on breath. According to the books, my diaphragm is being pushed up somewhere between one and two inches, which apparently makes all this shortness of breath possible. Oddly, though, there's also a hormone that makes me breathe more deeply so the baby gets plenty of oxygen. The weirdest things go on during pregnancy.

Swelling in my feet has been great. Heartburn every time I eat is dandy. Oh, and bleeding gums is just about the most attractive thing I could have imagined to go along with being giant. It made me look like some kind of blood sucking monster.

And there's my personal favorite, the awesome sneeze and leak urine trick that I can pull off. Yes, you read that right: whenever I sneeze, if I haven't peed in more than twenty minutes, I freaking pee my pants. Not full on loss control, but it's not always a small amount either. The first time that happened I about had a conniption fit.

I am miserable. Don't get me wrong, I love my daughter. She is going to be the best thing I've ever done, especially if Clark does most of the parenting when she gets to about twelve years old and we start butting heads (it's inevitable). But right now, I just want her out. I want to hold her in my arms, not in my stomach.

Of course, I really am looking forward to holding Jordan. Despite the fact that I'm, with my luck, probably going to have to go through a long labor and multiple hours of pushing, I look forward to her truly being in my life instead of truly just being in me. I want to see with my own eyes that she's got ten toes an fingers, two eyes, a nose, and all other features a half-human, half-kryptonian should have.

And that, of course, brings up another interesting point. What can I expect out of my daughter? Is she going to get sick? Will she be able to get hurt? I know that I've had some crazy healing powers while pregnant, so I can only imagine what Jordan may or may not have in that area.

Will she develop powers? If I have a three year old that can fly... oh, who am I kidding? That sounds like just the type of thing that could happen to me. I mean, isn't that the risk you take when you marry and procreate with an intergalactic traveler? (In case you didn't know, Clark prefers that to alien and extra terrestrial, though I don't see a problem with the latter.)

What kind of mother can I be to my baby girl? I'm not going to know what to do in these situations! Not even Martha will have a clue about what to expect from a kryptonian baby, because she and Jonathan didn't find Clark until he was about three. I have to be pioneer mom, leading the way in mothering children that are only half human.

I'm not... it's just, anxiety has been creeping up on me more and more recently. Clark, Chloe, Bruce and Martha all assure me that I can do this just as well as any other first time mom, better even. I just can't find it in myself, though. I don't even know what I'm trying to find when I think about it, but I just feel like I'm lacking something... maybe the maternal instincts I feel I should have beyond loving my daughter.

Like I said, anxiety. I've never relied on instinct before, so why should I start now?

Well, that's a lie, but it makes me feel better.

For now, I think I just need to stop worrying. Jordan could decided to start her potentially long but hopefully short hello to the world any day now, though I'm not due just yet. The doc says she'll probably be a big baby, too. Figures. It would help if we could know how big Clark was when he was born, or know if big babies run in his family. One of those things, though.

And with that said, I find it's time for a back massage. Clark's so good at it, though, that it invariably leads to sex, and that's quite an adventure of movement and different positions these days. But, you do what you have to, don't ya?

Lois flipped the diary shut, eyes wide as she did so. That was what she had to look forward to? Heartburn, bleeding gums, shortness of breath, exhaustion and peeing herself when she sneezed? How had she wanted to go through that again?

She hadn't lost her memory since 2018 until it had happened this time, which meant she remembered all that stuff, probably in vivid detail. Would having a baby really make all that worth it? She knew that she would do anything for Jordan...

As she thought about Jordan, Lois resolutely set her mind to something: she was not going to let her baby girl see her that frustrated with being pregnant. She didn't want to give her the impression that mommy didn't want her brother. She was also going to do her best no to be crazy, angry pregnant woman. Some bitching about things was probably inevitable, especially if she pissed herself., but it would all be worth it.

It all _had _to be worth it. She wanted to hold her little boy.

Shaking her head, Lois pushed the worst case scenario thoughts of what was going to happen to her and her body out of her mind, focusing instead on the fact that she was going to have a son. She was going to have a little boy that the General was just going to spoil rotten with military everything. Lane's had been in the army for generations, and she bet as far as her son went he would be no different in the General's mind.

If he decided he wanted to go that route, Lois would support his decision, but she was going to have to make sure that it was his decision and not her father meddling in things. She wouldn't impose any decisions on him, nor would anybody else. That would probably be a good note to leave in the diary if she left some entries in there.

Lois worked her way up off the couch and walked back into the bedroom, placing the diary back in its drawer and closing it as she heard the door opening up. Peeking her head out, she saw Clark walk into the apartment with Jordan perched on his shoulders. Grinning, Lois spotted a camera on the dresser and grabbed it. She discretely focused it in on them and snapped the picture, the flash catching each by surprise.

"You two are adorable, and now shall be for all time in this picture."

"Yay!"

Lois sat the camera down and walked over, gently pulling Jordan down off Clark's shoulders so she could get a hug. "Yay indeed, baby girl. How was the farm?"

"Good. How was work?"

"Slow. Apparently news didn't want to happen today."

"May I go with you tomorrow instead of going to the farm?"

Lois looked up at Clark, who just shrugged. Looking at Jordan again, Lois hugged her a little tighter. "Sure thing. You'll be the cutest thing that newsroom has ever seen. Maybe you'll even get to write a story."

"Will Uncle Perry be there?"

"Yes he will."

"Yay! I miss him. I used to see him all the time, but not anymore."

"He misses you too, Jordan."

Lois wondered what exactly having Jordan at the Planet was going to entail. Yet another learn by doing situation upon her, Lois shrugged it off and walked into the kitchen to find something to snack on with her daughter.

A few minutes later, the phone rang and Lois picked it up, finding that Chloe was calling.

"Hey, cuz."

"So, what's the plan for dinner?"

"Hungry, are we?"

"Yes."

Lois waited for more of an answer, but when there was still silence a second later, she figured that was all she was getting. "Alright then. What sounds good?"

"I'm having a hankering for breakfast food today. Pancakes, sausage, the works. I know Clark is a great breakfast maker, so any chance you can convince him?"

That did sound good. "I doubt it'll take more than a request, but hold on a second." Lois lowered the phone and turned to Clark, who had swooped up Jordan and was reading something with her on the couch. "Hey, Smallville."

He head swung up after a second, looking back at her. "What's up?"

"How do you feel doing some pancakes, sausage and basically the works when it comes to breakfast for dinner? Chloe's having a hankering, and that is causing me to have a hankering."

"Your hanker is my command. Jordan and I will get the ball rolling once we finish Green Eggs And Ham."

"We have that?"

"Mom saved it from when I was a kid. It was one of the first books they read to me."

"Fair enough." Lois raised the phone back up to her mouth. "Clark says it's a go. I have a request, though, if you haven't left the Planet yet."

"Just shutting off my computer now. Shoot."

"You mind stopping by Dirty's and picking up a few orders of hash browns?"

"Ok, you obviously are in the spirit of breakfast food, because that sounds like fourteen kinds of tasty, especially paired with Clark's omelette making skills."

"Exactly."

"Consider it done. See ya soon."

"Bye, Chlo."

Lois sat the phone down, smiling. Having just been told about the proposal, she really wanted to hear about the wedding, and this was going to be a perfect opportunity for captive story tellers. Not that she needed them to be captive, but it was nice to have anyway. Hopefully, it wouldn't take as long to tell with both of them there to relate it.


	46. Chapter 46

---- Chapter 46

"Wedding."

"Honeymoon."

Lois looked at Clark, who was checking on Jordan as she ate a piece of bacon. "What?"

"You said something random, so I said something related to the random."

Chloe spoke around a mouthful of pancake. "He has you there, cuz."

Lois rolled her eyes as she took a bite of the hash browns. She chewed a couple times but got impatient and decided to talk anyway. "What I was intending..."

"You shouldn't speak with your mouthful, mommy."

Lois smiled at Jordan as she chewed and swallowed. "Sorry, baby girl." She looked over at Clark. "And you wonder where you are in her. Anyway, what I intended to say was I would like to hear about our wedding, Smallville. Since I assume the both of you were there..."

"Where was I, mommy?"

Three heads turned to Look at Jordan, whose gaze was settled directly on her mother. Lois looked to Clark, who just gave her a small smile and nodded. "Well, uh, you weren't born yet, Jordan."

"But where was I?"

Lois fidgeted for a moment, trying to think of something to say. Twinkle in father's eye? No, too ridiculous. Mommy's tummy? No, that's equally ridiculous. Oh hell, how was a three year old going to figure out that ridiculous wasn't true? Time to make something up.

"Jordan, you were a happy thought in daddy's and my heads. When we fell in love and got married, that love was so strong that our happy thoughts were too much to just be thoughts anymore, and they became you. You're the embodiment of our happiness, Jordan. That's why we love you so much."

"I love you too, mommy."

Lois breathed out in relief, and looked at Clark, who looked as if he was about to burst out laughing. When she glanced at Chloe, she got the same look except it was more obvious. She rolled her eyes at both of them, and Jordan excused herself to go to the bathroom.

"Thank you both _so_ much for leaving me high and dry like that."

"Cuz, while that explanation was all kinds of crazy and awesome, it was also full of love and did the trick."

"Yeah, Lo. I think you did a great job and I plan on letting you do the same with Almond Joy. Or, should I start calling him Happy Thought now?"

Lois sighed while the people on either side of her laughed. "Funny, Smallville. Now, wedding talk, pronto."

Clark looked at Chloe and shrugged. "Can you think of anything major in between the proposal and the wedding that should come first?"

"Hmm... finding out I was pregnant with the girls, though that didn't do much to Lois... there was the incident with Metallo, if you want to relay that."

"I think Jordan can live without hearing that story once she gets back from the restroom. She'll probably hear it eventually, but I think three is a little young." He paused a second before speaking again. "I guess wedding story it is."

Lois took another bite of hash browns and watched as Clark got up and walked over to a bookshelf, pulling out a photo album and bringing it over to the table. He put it down next to Lois's plate and sat back down, taking a bite of pancake as he did so. Once he'd swallowed, he spoke again.

"We got married October 18th, 2017. That is a photo album of the day made specifically so that you can follow along with the story."

Lois picked the album up and flipped through a few pages. "Wow. Who made this?"

"You did."

"Oh. Well, way to go me."

"Yeah, but you only did it for me telling the story of our actual wedding, which is the part I will tell you. That leaves all the buildup to Chloe."

Lois turned to her blonde relative, who was finishing up her stack of pancakes. "Ok then. First off, we're starting the day before. Secondly... well, there is no secondly, so let's do this."

---

_Chloe eased herself down into the chair, resting her arms across her stomach as she settled into it. If nothing else, having a giant stomach with a month and a half to go gave her a very personal table on which to rest things, such as her arms. Of course, since she was already as big as she ever was during her pregnancy with Jack, she didn't know if this was actually a positive. _

_"I'm going to ruin him, Chloe. I love him too much to do that to him. He would be saddled with me for the rest of his life!"_

_"Haven't we been over this before?"_

_"Yes, but the wedding is tomorrow so I got a fresh batch of crazy today."_

_"Marvelous," Chloe mumbled. She'd been getting these intermittent 'I can't do this' speeches from Lois since August, with increasing frequency and intensity. It was like a labor of love, really. She grinned at her mental pun but shook herself out of it when she noticed Lois was starting up again. _

_"He saves the world. He can't take time out of that to care for me when I'm in the middle of not remembering. The world comes first; I know that, but I'm not sure he will always make that choice, especially if my memory is gone and I'm lost in a world I don't recognize." _

_"Lois, Clark can make the tough decisions. You wouldn't have ever agreed to marry him if you didn't think he could do it."_

"_I know that, I do... but I just wonder, what would happen if..."_

_Chloe zoned out, letting Lois go on her rambling way. She smiled as one of the twins kicked, making sure that she wasn't forgotten. Chloe ran her hand over the spot that had been kicked and mentally reassured her daughter that she could not and would not be forgotten. When her sister did the same thing on the other side of her stomach, Chloe did the same for her._

_She listened to Lois go on for ten minutes, covering various topics. World saving was first and foremost, and that led to her not knowing how to be a wife, which then led to kids and a long glance at Chloe's stomach, causing her to roll her eyes. It was time to interject._

"_Lois, since you are SO convinced that you're going to be a bad mother and don't have the mothering instincts all women in the world BUT you have, which is extremely debatable, why did you go off the pill last week?"_

"_I, uh...I just didn't want to bother with it anymore. Remembering to take it at the same time everyday can be a pain when I don't always know where I'm going to be and what situation I'm going to be in. Shouldn't they have figured out how to make it so you can take it anytime during the day?"_

"_I guess they figured they shouldn't mess with a good thing."_

_Lois shrugged and waved a hand at thin air, apparently dismissing the topic. "With all the trouble I seem to find, it's easier to just have Clark put on a condom. That's such a strange word... how did anybody even come up with it?"_

_Chloe watched as Lois fidgeted with her hands a bit as she sat down across from her. "Are you sure that's it, Lo?" Lois mumbled something that was barely audible and certainly not understandable. "What?"_

"_I want to be able to get pregnant if I want to and getting off the pill now saves me the trouble of getting my cycle regular later, if that even happens anymore."_

"_Wow." Chloe scratched at her stomach then pulled away. She always had to remind herself not to scratch at the stupid itchy stretch marks since it didn't do any good. She focused on Lois again. "This seems like something you've put a lot of thought into."_

"_I have. Just, don't tell Clark."_

"_What? Why don't you want him to know?"_

"_I didn't tell him that part, just that I was getting off of it because I have too much irregularity in my life for it to still be taken at the same time every day. He shrugged, said it made sense and told me he'd buy some condoms on the way home from work."_

"_You're really not going to tell him it's so the two of you can have a baby?"_

_Lois shrugged and sank back into the chair. "What good would it do, Chloe? We don't even know if we CAN have a baby together. We may not need protection at all. But, you know, if it were possible, Imightbereadytohaveababy."_

"_Could you repeat the last part, please? Despite raising a little boy, I still do not understand mumble or gibberish, as much as I wish I did."_

"_I said I might be read to have a baby, and that is in spite of the fact that I would be a horrible mother. I know that, but I think about having a baby with Clark and damned if I don't melt a little inside at the thought. God, I hate being melty."_

_Chloe rolled her eyes and suppressed the want to cheer. She was so happy that Lois was thinking about having a baby with Clark. Any children they might have, if possible, would be amazing people because both their parents were too._

"_You're going to be a great mother, Lois."_

"_Ha!"_

"_I'm serious! You don't give yourself enough credit for anything, least of all your ability to take care of people. You took care of you sister when you were six years old, for Christ sake!"_

"_I did that because somebody had to, and look how she turned out!"_

"_She's got a husband, a son and plays violin in the Parisian orchestra! She was once an undercover government agent, of all things! Where is the bad in that?"_

"_I... damn it, you know what I mean! She used to get herself in trouble all the time and had total disregard for a large portion of her fellow man. She would disappear all the time, got involved with bad people..."_

"_And she turned out great because of you, Lois. You never gave up on her. She became the good person she is today because of the example you set from an early age."_

_Lois sat up, fidgeting again before placing her face into her hands, arms resting on her knees. Chloe waited while Lois attempted to sort out her thoughts. She wished Lois didn't think so negatively of herself and what she was capable of. She was going to be a great mother to any children she might have, as well as the best wife Clark could ever hope for._

"_I just... I'm worried, Chloe. What if I'm not good enough for Clark? What if he's making a huge mistake marrying me? What if I can't the wife that he needs? What if we do have children and I screw up the kids? I can't get these thoughts out of my head, no matter how much I want to."_

_Chloe sighed, wishing she could help Lois. All she could do was offer words on what she'd experienced. In the end, Lois had to be the one to conquer the demons in her head._

"_Lois, I was having similar thoughts the night before I married Bruce."_

_Lois looked up at her, hope in her eyes. "Really?" _

_Chloe just smiled at her. "Yep. I spent half the night telling you how I didn't know what I would do if I lost Bruce to the darkness. What kind of a mother was I going to be? That was a much more pertinent question for me, by the way, since I was already pregnant with Jack."_

"_I remember. Well, not REMEMBER remember, but you know what I mean."_

_Chloe nodded before continuing. "I was nervous. I thought Bruce was making a huge mistake. Here he was, owner of a ginormous company and billions of dollars, marrying a journalist that grew up in a small Kansas farm town with a bunch of crazy people possessing powers. What did I have to offer him? I didn't know anything about business. I'm not good at being arm candy for high society functions. Basically, it was a big night of me asking myself 'Why me?' It was all very cliché."_

"_And yet you married him."_

"_It's because my big cousin told me something very wise."_

"_Now that's just ridiculous."_

"_It's true. Do you know what you told me?"_

"_If I did, would I be having jitters at this point?"_

"_You told me that he didn't want me for those things. He wanted me because I was me. He wanted me for who I was and what I was, for all my perks and faults. He loved me. He chose to ask me to marry him; it wasn't forced. We had a love that would stand the test of time. And now it's time I say the same to you._

"_He loves you, Lois. I've known him a long time, and I've never seen him a fraction as happy as he is when he's with you. It's so natural between the two of that you have survived forgetting the relationship. It ended in a night that should have been a happy start to your lives together. And yet here you are, on the threshold with him, ready to cross over to the other side of it. Clark wants you because you're you. He wants the brash and he wants the impulsive, even if it drives him crazy. Most of all, he wants you._

"_He asked you to marry him because he loves you, of his own free will. I tried to talk him out of it the first night he did it. He said that if anybody could do it, it was me, and I didn't stand a chance. He loves you that much. We know how that night went and what happened because of it, and yet again, you two survived. Hell, the first time there was a ring involved between you two, YOU were the one to propose."_

"_So I recall you telling me."_

"_If there is fate, Lois, then you two are the evidence for it. Hell, it may be divine intervention for all I know, but you two are perfect. Two sides of the same coin."_

_Lois laughed. "That has to be the most dysfunctional coin ever. Pretty, though."_

_Chloe giggled a bit before speaking again. "Be that as it may, it's the strongest coin I've ever seen. Nothing can ruin it."_

_Lois smiled softly and sat back in her chair again, staring into space contemplatively. Chloe did the same, as best she could. Sinking back into a chair was no easy task these days. And on that note, she needed to pee again. She tried to push herself out of the chair, and finding herself failing, rolled her eyes at herself._

"_Lois, sorry to interrupt your thoughts, but could I get a hand up?"_

_Lois sprang out of her chair, sparking a bit of jealousy in Chloe before she remembered this was all for a good cause. Lois pulled her up out of the chair._

"_Thanks. I look forward to returning the favor."_

"_You're set on me having kids, aren't you?"_

_Chloe spoke as she walked to the bathroom. "What can I say? I have a great cousin and want the same for my children, even if they are technically second cousins instead of first."_

_Twelve Hours Later_

"_Deep breath in. Deep breath out. Deep breath in. Deep breath out."_

"_I know how to breathe, Chloe!"_

"_Yes, yes, I know. This day is all about you, Lo, but I'm making sure that you get to that aisle."_

_Lois spun around, her curled hair falling down to her gowned shoulders. "Have I given any indication that I wouldn't?"_

"_No, but the fact that you just spoke so much and so quickly that I had to tell you to breathe is a good indication that I am, in fact, needed."_

"_I was only questioning why we decided to get married on a Wednesday. It was such a random day to pick. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but still..."_

"_I have no idea why you did what you did, Lo, but people are here anyway. Good lord, your wedding pulled in all the core members of the Justice League. I mean, they're in civies, of course, but still, very few marriages can claim they had Batman, Green Arrow, Aquaman, The Flash, Wonder Woman and The Martian Manhunter in attendance."_

"_Not to mention Superman."_

"_Exactly. Hell, you're not a big wedding person anyway, so this small affair on a Wednesday is perfect. Jimmy is doing photography and Perry is doing his editor for the Planet stuff via phone, so you're basically at work anyway, except this time you're the story."_

"_Makes it harder to be objective."_

_Chloe smiled. "True. Good thing you don't have to write about it."_

"_So, think Clark is going to like my dress?"_

"_I think that if Clark doesn't fall over when he sees it he'll be fighting a strong urge to hit you with his x-ray vision... and of course, if he does that he might just be hard through the ceremony. I wonder if anybody would notice."_

_Lois broke out into laughter, and Chloe joined her. "You have a dirty mind, Chlo."_

"_Yeah, well, somebody has to." Chloe looked down to her watch and grinned. Five minutes. "You ready for this shindig?"_

"_Are you calling my wedding a shindig?"_

"_Would you prefer hootenanny?"_

"_Yes, yes I would." _

"_Fine. You ready for this hootenanny?"_

"_Just about. Are you sure you're going to be alright standing for the ceremony? I have no problem with my maid of honor sitting next to me. It'd be better for your back."_

"_I'll be perfectly fine, and thank you for the concern, but forget my back! You're marrying Clark today, so think about yourself for once."_

_Lois grinned before her face melted into a resolute, determined look. "Alright. Let's get this shindig going."_

_- - -_

"We walked over to the big doors and met your dad after that. I gave you two a few minutes to yourself before I had to do my walk down the aisle with Bruce. And that, my dear cousin, brings us to your husbands portion of this story."

"Yes, the very same husband that decided to give our daughter a bath while you told your portion of the story."

Lois scowled at nothing in particular since Clark wasn't there to scowl at. Sure, Jordan needed a bath after syruping herself into oblivion while downing pancakes, but... well, she couldn't find a but, despite the fact that she really wanted to. He had an annoying habit of doing things at the right time or the right place just so she couldn't criticize his choice. Not without sounding irrational, anyway.

Clark chose that time to walk out of the bathroom, holding a towel covered Jordan in his arms. She pulled the towel up off her face and smiled at Lois and Chloe.

"All clean."

"Yeah you are, kiddo. Enjoy your bath?"

Jordan shrugged and started wriggling, Clark letting her down after a second. She started running around with the towel draped over her shoulders, saying that she was Supergirl. Clark feigned a look of shock.

"Supergirl? What about Superman?"

"He's a boy, daddy! I'm a girl, so I would be Supergirl! Almond Joy could be Superman when he grows up."

Lois groaned, laying her head down on the table. There went her last bastion of hope for somebody not calling her son Almond Joy. He was going to think that was his name instead of whatever his name ended up being. Huh, what where they going to name him? She was going to have to ask Clark what he thought about names later.

Now, though, it was time to get on with the wedding.

"So, Smallville, what say we proceed with the events of October 18th, 2017."

"I guess we could proceed." Clark swooped a giggling Jordan up into her arms, holding her over his head and spinning them around, making it look like she actually did have a cape on. "What do you say, Jordan? Shall we proceed with telling mommy about the wedding?"

"Okay!"

---

_Clark stood in front of the altar, feeling a lot more calm than he'd expected to. He wondered where the jitters were, the pre-wedding freak out that seemed to afflict people, but he felt no such feelings. He just felt happy. He was going to get to marry the greatest woman he knew today._

_He looked around the church, spotting people talking amongst themselves as they waited for everything to get underway. Ollie sat next to Diana, both grinning at something Bart had been saying from the row in front of them. J'onn was sitting next to him, munching on an oreo. Clark grinned, admiring his friends love of the cookie._

_As he kept glancing around the room, he finally locked eyes with his mom, who just smiled softly at him as she touched her heart. He returned the action, knowing full well what it meant. He let his eyes slide towards the ceiling, thinking of his father and knowing that he'd be watching._

_Clark's eyes snapped to the back of the church when he heard the doors opening, seeing Chloe and Bruce enter the hall to the sound of new music. Everybody turned and watched as they made their way down the aisle, Chloe doing her best pregnant shuffle while managing to still look elegant. He hoped that she'd be ok for the reception afterwards with all the standing she planned to do, but he knew if anybody could do it, she could._

_Chloe and Bruce took their respective places on the dais, each wishing Clark the best. He thanked both of them and took a deep breath as he waited for Lois to be escorted by her father. He heard the music change once again, and saw the doors open to show Lois being escorted by Sam in full military regalia. It would have been an impressive sight if he'd been able to give it more than a seconds though._

_He wasn't, though, because his eyes locked on Lois and he just about fell over. She looked amazing, and he didn't think that word actually did her justice._

_He was transfixed as she made her way up the aisle, finally arriving in front of him. She kissed her dad on the cheek and wiped away a tear he let loose, whispering something to him. He smiled and returned her kiss before letting her arm go, giving a nod to Clark and taking his seat on the bride side._

_Clark felt Lois place an arm over his, and he grinned at her._

"_I like this look on you."_

"_You only get to see it this once, so take it in while you can."_

_At the sound of a voice clearing behind them, they looked up to find the minister smiling at them. "Would you two like to begin?"_

_Each smiled sheepishly and stepped up in front of him, holding hands._

"_Family, friends, we are here today to unite Lois Lane and Clark Kent in bonds of marriage. Should anybody have objections, speak them now."_

_Clark watched as Lois leveled a death glare on the room, making sure nobody decided to say anything. _

"_Lois and Clark have decided to write their own vows. Lois?" _

"_Smallville, I never thought the day would come when I would find a man that could love me for me. I've never been the ideal woman, at least not in the eyes of most. Loud, opinionated... well, you know. But that's where you're different. You see me, you see my flaws, and you embrace them. You love me for me, always, and that just makes me love you more. _

"_But it's more than that. We compliment each other like nobody else in the world. As my cousin told me yesterday, most people wouldn't and couldn't survive what we've been through, yet here we are. If we weren't meant to be, I don't know what was. I love you, Clark, forever."_

_The minister turned to Clark. "Clark?"_

_Clark blinked a few times before taking a breath to begin._

"_I had trouble being me when I was younger. I was never comfortable in my own skin, let alone around girls. And then I had the fortune of meeting this brash woman that blew anybody I knew out of the water. We didn't really click at first, at least not on a conscious level. Well, not on an unconscious level either because we were too busy bantering to figure things out._

"_It was good, though, because we weren't ready for each other yet. We both had to grow up. We both did grow up, and it happened when we didn't see each other for about four years. When I got back and we found our way to each other, it was... amazing. Better than I could have thought existed. We had our trials and our tribulations, but we persevered to get here._

"_We bring out the best in each other, always, and that will never change. We see the best of ourselves in one another, and can console one another when we see the worst in ourselves. I love you, Lois, forever."_

"_Well, this seems a formality," the minister said, "but tradition is tradition. The rings, please."_

_Bruce handed Clark a ring, and Chloe handed one to Lois. "Lois, do you take Clark as your lawfully wedded husband, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"_

_She slid the ring on his finger, looking him in the eye the whole time. "I do."_

"_Clark, do you take Lois as your lawfully wedded wife, for richer and for poorer, in sickness and in health, 'til death do you part?"_

_Clark slid the ring onto Lois's finger, and couldn't have looked away from her eyes had he wanted to. "I do."_

"_Then by the power vested in me and the state of Kansas, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may, of course, kiss the bride."_

_When their lips met, there may have been clapping. Hell, there may have been a dog pile on them for all he knew. He wouldn't have noticed, though, because he was too happy. He was living his dream. He was married to the woman he loved more than life. He didn't think life would get better than this._

_- - - _

"Of course, once this one came along, it did get better, but it hadn't ever been that good before."

Lois grinned as Clark hugged a sleeping Jordan close. She'd fallen asleep pretty quickly once Clark had gotten her dressed and she'd snuggled in between them.

"Yeah, I'd say it's gotten pretty good. I did well with the album, too."

"That you did, cuz." Chloe stood up out of her chair, smiling at both of them. "I think I'm going to take off, you two. I want to get back to the hotel and give Bruce a call in a little while. Need to see if I can wish Jack goodnight."

"You want me to fly you?"

"Nah, I'm fine with a cab this time. See you guys at work tomorrow."

"Love you, Chlo."

"Love you too, Lo."

Lois watched Chloe walk out the door, then looked down at Jordan. Deciding to do it herself this time, she picked her up and hiked her up so that her daughter's head was resting on her shoulder. Clark walked over and placed a gentle kiss on each of their foreheads.

"Want me to join you?"

Lois smiled at him. "That's alright, I got her."

Lois carried Jordan into her room and gently laid her down on the bed. She stirred a little as Lois covered her up but settled quickly. She smoothed her daughter's hair a second, enjoying watching her sleep. Clark had been right that first day; it was hard to imagine anything more innocent and beautiful than her daughter sleeping peacefully.

She walked out of the room a little while later, unable to wipe the content smile off her face. She sat down next to Clark, who'd started reading a book. It was a short lived reading session, though, as he sat the book down and looked over at her.

"So, what's up?"

"How about you tell me about our honeymoon."

"The honeymoon, eh?"

"Yes, sir. I want all the details."

"Well, Bruce and Chloe lent us their villa in Spain..."

"Those are not the details I want."

"Patience, Lo."

She rolled her eyes and decided to speed things up. She sat up then moved over and straddled his lap, getting as close to him as she could with her outstretched stomach. She could still get hip to hip contact, and she took advantage of that.

"Patience sucks. Now, about those details, Smallville..."


	47. Chapter 47

---- Chapter 47

Lois spun around in her chair, grinning as Clark rolled his eyes at her. She didn't care. She was right, yet again.

"Say it, Smallville."

"You were right. Again."

"How long have we been married now?"

"Over four years."

"And how long have we known each other?"

"Over seventeen years."

"And what in all that time should you have learned by now?"

She stopped her chair spinning and looked him dead in the eye as he let out a sigh. "I should always trust your hunches."

"The man gets it!"

He sat down in his chair, frowning at her. "Come on, Lo! Your hunches have a penchant for getting you into boat loads of trouble. I don't like my wife to be in boat loads of trouble, especially when she's pregnant. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that it is the exact OPPOSITE of what I like."

Lois waved her hands in front of herself in a showcasing fashion. "Do I look injured, Smallville? I am fine, as is AJ. No harm came to either of us whilst you were saving somebody and we were doing some journalism. It's like golf; you expose 'em early and their hooked for life. I like the idea of our children being as into uncovering the truth as we are."

"Yes, I know. It doesn't mean I have to like my extremely independent and extremely pregnant wife running off to follow a hunch where there are armed guards very capable of shooting her."

"Hey, I don't have this crazy good healing to sit by and do nothing."

"You're also not invulnerable, Lo. I don't want to find out that you don't heal from anything that could happen by you getting shot in the heart. Yet again, quite the opposite."

Lois looked at him a moment before standing up and walking over to him, putting herself in his lap. She kissed him, feeling him kiss her back for a moment before she pulled away. "I love you, Smallville. Trust me when I say that I would never do anything that I thought could endanger AJ making it into the world."

"But, what about..."

"I _may_ have overstated my effort to get the information."

"What exactly does that mean?"

"I got the papers from Bobby Bigmouth. He'd mentioned a contact at the company last time we talked."

"So all that action you were bragging about was... what, exactly?"

"Bullshit. Well, not bullshit in the technical sense of the word. It's something that happened for an article before the attack that I never told you about apparently. I didn't actually know if you were going to stop me in the middle of my story and tell me you'd heard it before."

Clark frowned at her, and in response she just laid her head down on his shoulder. "Are you trying to stress me out?"

"Isn't that why you married me? A stress free life sounds boring."

"Yes, well, I like boring every now and again. I do tend to have more stressful situations than most people."

"My poor, poor Smallville. Whatever can I do to cure you of your ails?"

Clark turned his head and pressed his lips again hers, and she found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable way to cure his ails. Man alive he was a good kisser.

"Ahem."

Two sets of eyes opened as their lips parted ways, heads turning to find Chloe standing at the door. "Ya know, when Perry gave you two an office, I don't think it was so you two could have a good snog."

"Snog?"

"Yeah, I watched a British movie last night and I had the word stuck in my head. Thanks for getting it out. You never know when you're going to find an outlet for these things."

"Here to help, Chloe. What brings you the few feet from your office?"

"I came to enlist the help of one man and woman, as well as all of their progeny that are obligated by family ties to help those with the surname Wayne move to Metropolis."

Lois rolled her eyes. "That was long and drawn out."

"It seemed like more fun than coming in a saying 'Help us move this weekend and we'll feed you.'"

"Yes, but that is MUCH more effective. We're in."

Clark looked away from Chloe to Lois. "You aren't going to try and get anything more out of it? Seems like your kinda situation, Lo."

Lois looked at Clark, then lightly flicked him on the forehead. "Free food, Smallville. You don't turn down free food for the whole family. And I would never take advantage of family like that."

"And of course, since you're pregnant, you'll only be able to do light work."

"Well, I thought that was obvious."

"Right, of course. So, when does all the stuff get here, Chloe?"

She sat down in Lois's chair, grinning. "Saturday afternoon. I knew the old free food thing would work. One should always start a conversation that involves help moving with free food. It's the only way to ensure involvement, really. Family ties don't mean what they used to."

"Still means Alex P. Keaton to me, cuz."

"You're just all kinds of hilarious."

"I like to think so."

"So, how are you two doing this fine Wednesday afternoon?"

Lois grinned at her cousin. "You are very wordy today, Chlo."

"Yeah, it happened with Jack and the girls, too. Around this time I just get happy for a little while and start using excessive amounts of words. Don't know why, it just happens. Don't really mind it, either, since I do enjoy happiness."

"Don't we all."

"It'll go away once the discomfort overtakes the happiness. Until then, though, Perry is going to be editing the bejesus out of my articles because I am going to be typing three times as many words as he's assigning me, and they'll all seem like they should be there from my perspective. George always rejoiced when I would hit my third trimester, my back would be hurting, swollen ankles, the heartburn and indigestion, the non-stop fun of waddling instead of walking while being out of breath doing so...

Lois interjected. "We get the point, Chloe."

"Right. I would start being ready for the baby to be _out_ and he would be happy because it meant he didn't have to reword all my work."

Frowning, Lois rubbed a hand over her face and sighed. "This whole third trimester thing sounds like a giant pain in the ass."

"It feels that way. As you can tell, I'm looking forward to it ruining my happiness over this new baby. But, ya know, it's what we go through to have a baby and I obviously think it's worth it or else I wouldn't be on my third pregnancy and fourth baby."

Lois shook her head, trying to clear all the anxious out. "Ok, I need something happier to think about. If I dwell on how much pregnancy is going to suck in a couple months I'm just going to be annoyed the rest of the day that I have to go through all that crap just to bring my son into the world."

"Alright then. Chlo, what was the next big thing after the wedding? The twins being born?"

"Since you probably already covered the honeymoon, yeah, I would imagine so. But it wasn't just that, though... didn't something else happen right around that time?"

"Yeah, but that can be a surprise."

Lois swung her head between the two, scowling at each furiously. They were holding back on her? What the hell were they not telling her about what had happened then? God, she really needed the diary to be around right now so she could look at the time line and figure out just what the hell they were talking about. She held her hands up and waved at both of them.

"Alright you two, enough secrecy. Out with the story."

Clark grinned at her and kissed her on the temple, causing her to roll her eyes at his lovey dovey attempts to placate her. "We'd tell it now if we could, but alas, we are at work and Perry would give us a verbal thrashing if we used the time to tell stories instead of write them."

"Yeah, cuz, but I promise we'll tell you at dinner tonight."

Lois sighed and just stared at the wall. "You both suck."

"You were right, Lois. Nothing against The Swallow at the Hollow in Atlanta, which is great, but barbecue from The Salt Lick was definitely the way to go."

"It's just handy that if I had been wrong, as infrequent a happening as that is, we could have had my husband go and get us food from the other."

"It's nice to know that I'm not taken for granted, ladies."

Lois and Chloe both grinned and walked over to Clark, hugging him simultaneously. He wrapped an arm around each, then caught Jordan as she launched herself at the group hug. "Didn't feel like being left out of the action, did ya sweetheart?"

"I like hugging." Jordan laid her head down on his shirt, and Lois had to suppress a laugh when she picked it up again and there was a big sauce stain on his shirt.

"Uh, daddy..." Clark looked over at her, and she pointed to the spot on his shirt. He looked down and shook his head.

"It never fails, does it Jordan? You always find a way to get your old man as messy as you are."

"You love it, daddy."

Clark looked down at her, scowling playfully. "How old are you?"

"Three!"

"You sound older. Are you sure about that?"

She nodded and grinned that grin she'd inherited from him. "There were only three candles on my cake in August."

"Well that settles it, then. You are most certainly three going on twelve."

"I thought four came after three?"

"It does. But you are just so smart that you're skipping four through eleven and going straight to twelve."

Jordan looked and him a second before turning her head towards Lois. "Can I do that, mommy?"

"You most certainly cannot." She walked over to the two of them and pulled Jordan into her arms. "Don't listen to your dad, he's being ridiculous. Plus, if you skip four through eleven I'm going to miss too many years of your life, and I don't like that it will probably happen anyway."

"What?"

"Simple answer: don't be in a hurry to grow up. Being a kid is great, so enjoy it. Plus, I enjoy you being a kid too much for you to grow up."

"Okay."

"Good. Now, I think daddy and aunt Chloe owe the two of us a story. Something about when you cousins Aly and Liz were born. How does that sound?"

"Good. May I have some more corn?"

Lois let Jordan down so she could go back over to the table, figuring food was as good an idea as anything else. She grabbed her plate, loaded up some more food on it and turned to face her fellow adults. They were conversing quietly between each other. She took a bite of chopped beef and watched them quietly, hoping to be able to discern what they were talking about. It obviously pertained to the secret they seemed determined to spring on her.

"So, are you two always so eager to surprise me about this one?"

Both turned to her, eyeing her for a second. Chloe spoke first.

"It's not like we don't want to tell you, Lois. This is just... a life changing thing. I mean, yeah, everything we tell you has some surprise in it, but you always know what we're telling you before we start. This time, we figure you go in blind and come out saying 'Huh. Good time, that one.'"

"Is there really that much difference between telling me now and telling me a little later?"

"You are just going to have to trust your cousin and your husband. We would never do anything detrimental or mean, correct?"

"I'm still debating that one in my head. You didn't used to keep things from me like this... well, aside from Clark's powers and all related material."

Before Chloe could say something in response, Clark stepped in. "Lo, I promise, this is a story that will make you happy. You know very well that neither of us would do anything to ever annoy you unnecessarily."

"Ha!"

"Ok, what we define as unnecessarily. Either way, you're going to be happy when you hear this. Trust me."

Lois eyed him for a second, taking another bite of chopped beef and pairing it with a bite of mashed potatoes. She swallowed both before nodding at him. "Fine, but only because I love you."

"What about me, cousin of mine?"

"I love you too, Chloe. But how about from now on you two tell me what's coming, eh?"

"Fair enough. So, the twins birth. I'm intimately familiar with this story, but as you can imagine my point of view is somewhat slanted towards the two girls that I had to squeeze out of, er..." Lois watched Chloe glance over at Jordan before continuing. "...that made their grand entrance, so to speak. Therefore, I cede the floor to the man with the big 'S' on his chest for that part of the story. First, though, we talked a couple hours before hand, so I can tell you about that. I guess I don't cede then."

Lois took a bite, rolling her eyes at Chloe's failed attempt of ceding the floor bit before looking over to Clark. She frowned when he had that faraway look on his face that meant he needed to be somewhere else. "Are you kidding me, Smallville?"

He looked at her and gave her a small smile. "This won't take long, I promise. Don't start without me!"

With a small gust, he disappeared from the room. Lois took another bite of her food before looking to Chloe. "Does the timing of things like that ever get better than being exactly when you don't want it to be?"

"Not even close. But since he said it won't take long, I am fairly certain I know what this is. He should be back right about... not yet... wait for it... now."

Chloe waved her hand at the air as if to make him appear. When he didn't appear, she shrugged and turned back to Lois. "Guess I was wrong. It was worth a try."

There was a gust of wind and Clark appeared again. "Sorry about that. Cat in a tree."

"I knew it! Just have to work on my timing. I should have added a second not yet."

Lois goggled at Clark. "You pull _cats_ out of _trees_?"

"Always have, always will. What good is helping people if you don't help everyone, even kids with cats stuck in a tree?"

"Only you, Smallville." She paused a second before a pun popped into her head. "Nice 'S.'"

"Oh, come on..."

She grinned and broke into laughter at her own joke. When it stopped a second later, Chloe was giggling and Clark was looking at both of them with a raised eyebrow and crossed arms.

"Oh come on, Clark. It's not like she hasn't made that joke before. Even you laughed the first time."

Lois sighed. "I've done that one before? Damn. I was hoping to do something original."

"Nobody does anything original anymore. It's all a copy of what something else has done. Well, aside from your memory loss and Clark's job involving tights."

"Not exactly the way I prefer to be original, Chloe."

"We all have our roles to play, apparently."

"And I get to be the woman with the crazy brain injury and mother to the second generation of crazy powerful people in the world? As much as I like the latter, I would also like to leave a mark as myself."

There was a gust of wind and Clark walked over and sat down at the table next to Jordan, now dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. "Weren't we supposed to be telling you the story of the twin's birth?"

Lois turned a cocked eyebrow on him. "Well, if you two would stop distracting me with other topics we could already be in the middle of it. You keep saying things that require me to respond, though, so it never seems to end."

"That's on way of putting things." Clark stopped talking and started wiping some barbecue sauce off of Jordan's face, much to her chagrin. There was a very familiar discontent look on her daughters face. Apparently she was in there somewhere that wasn't the eyes.

"Of course, one could also say there we're simply telling you facts and you feel the need to refute them. Had you not commented on each one, perhaps we could have been telling you the story now."

Lois glared at him and opened her mouth to say something before closing it again, so as not to prove his point. "Just tell the story, Smallville."

"Chloe starts, remember?"

"Whatever."

---

"_How are you feeling, Chloe."_

"_Rotund. You?"_

"_Eh, who cares about me."_

_Chloe rolled her eyes and adjusted the phone. "I care about you, Lois, even if I am 38 weeks pregnant with what is more likely a beach ball than two baby girls."_

"_Well, I appreciate it. You think today is the day?"_

"_One can only hope. If not, I'm betting it's soon. I've been Braxton Hicking like crazy the last couple days. Hopefully they'll turn into the real thing and we'll be able to finish this day or week with two fresh bundles of baby instead of the one big bundle of uncomfortable that is me."_

"_What exactly is going on that makes you so uncomfortable?"_

_Had this call not come on the heels of Lois saying she might be ready for a baby about six weeks ago, Chloe would have thought her cousin had been drinking to ask such a thing. She sounded genuinely interested, though, and that just made Chloe grin. Then she remembered she had to describe her discomfort and the grin slid away._

"_To be honest, it's just annoyances that add up. The lack of bladder control is rough sometimes..."_

"_Hold on there. Lack of bladder control?"_

"_Yeah, not something that they advertise about pregnancy. The prerequisite swollen feet, stretch marks like you wouldn't believe, leaky boobs..."_

"_They leak too? Jesus, I'm afraid to ask if anything else is leaking."_

_Chloe scratched at her stomach trying to decide just how much she should tell Lois. She decided to be vague so as not to scare her cousin off of pregnancy completely. She had enough problems with her thoughts on motherhood._

"_Look, Lo, I know that I've done my fair share of complaining, but when I hold my little girls it will all have been worth it. It takes some mental fortitude to get through the pregnancy and birth, but once you do you have your child, or in my case children, to hold and love. That kind of love will take you by surprise and make you stronger. It's why my complaints aren't half of what they were when I was pregnant with Jack. I know what I'll have once the girls are born, so I'm much more prepared and much less annoyed by what I have to go through for it to happen."_

"_Just how bad were you when pregnant with Jack?"_

"_Ask Clark. His forgiving perspective will make me sound a whole lot better than my own will."_

_Lois laughed and made Chloe laugh a bit too. She quieted down a second and waited for Lois to say something when she did the same._

"_Do you mind if I rant a little, Chlo? I feel a little selfish doing so, what with you going through your pregnancy and having more immediate problems than I do."_

"_I'll feel less like a house and more like Chloe if you do."_

"_Thank you. So, I kinda feel like I've lost my mind. Not in the way I literally do, where I lose my memory, but it's the way I think. It's like somebody took all my normal thoughts and replaced with these annoying, baby-centric thoughts. Jesus, I think I caught the baby fever from you or something."_

_Chloe couldn't help but laugh at that. When she calmed herself down, she smiled sheepishly to herself. "Sorry, Lo, but that was pretty funny. And when did I have baby fever?"_

"_You had baby fever when you were trying to get pregnant. Clark said something about Batman walking a little funny, but that's not the point of all this... well, my baby fever is, not yours. Feel free to laugh whenever you want, though. I like hearing you happy."_

"_And I probably shouldn't laugh too hard, else you'll be an audio witness to that lack of bladder control." Realizing what she'd said, Chloe wondered if she was leaking words out her mouth. "And having said that, I now realize it probably falls under the too much information area of our relationship. Back to you. You're losing any ranting momentum you once had."_

"_Right. So, yeah, baby fever. It's the weirdest damn thing. I know that I really shouldn't have a baby, because I will be cursing it with me for a mother. Not only that, but unless there's some miracle cure I will literally forget any child I have at some point. How is that fair to a kid of any age, let alone a baby? It's selfishness on my part, plain and simple._

"_On the other hand, though, I want to have a baby with Clark. I don't even know if it's possible but dear lord does it sound like something that I could get on board with. But it makes no sense! Why the hell am I having thoughts like that when I'm having the accompanying thoughts about how I will be a terrible mother that forgets her son or daughter, possibly both every few years. It makes no sense!"_

"_I think you said that already."_

"_It bears repeating that sense has no place in this talk. In fact, I think it's a symptom of baby fever. It dulls rational thought. It makes you forget that babies are completely dependent on you, and being dependent on me is something nobody in this world should have to live with, even if one of his or her parents was Clark."_

_Chloe winced as a supposedly painless Braxton Hick moved across her stomach. The person that wrote they were painless should be hit upside the head. It passed a few seconds later, and she continued their chat._

"_Nobody has ever said that the brain is a logical thing, Lois. I think a lot of people doubt that they'll be good parents, yet a fairly sizable part of the population keeps procreating despite it. I blame sex for that, though, because if it didn't feel so damn good there wouldn't be so many people. _

"_On topic, there's nothing nonsensical about wanting to have a baby with your husband. I actually think that it's pretty normal, no matter how much you think negatively of yourself."_

"_It's just unsettling. Saying I might be ready to have a baby the night before the wedding didn't have the freeing effect I hoped it would. I'd kinda hoped that saying it out loud, even if I mumbled it at first, would free it up as a reality and allow me to accept my insanity. Unfortunately, it has only pushed me further into it."_

"_You're not insane. You're just you." _

"_I still maintain this is all your fault for infecting me with baby fever."_

_Chloe rolled her eyes but couldn't help smiling at her cousin's way of putting things. "You do not have baby fever. Baby fever is made up. What you have is love and the fact that your cousin is soon going to have a total of three children and your sister a total of two come July." _

"_What does that have to do with anything?"_

"_Would you even be thinking about having a baby if I weren't in the end stages of gestating two and Lucy weren't in the beginning of a pregnancy?"_

_There was silence a second before Lois spoke. "I... how the hell should I know? All I know is that I want to have a baby with Clark, as little sense as me being a mother makes. If that doesn't prove that there is baby fever, I don't know what does."_

"_It just proves you're human, Lois."_

"_I like to think I'm above such things."_

"_And on that ridiculous note, I have to go to the bathroom again, so I'm going to let you go. I love you, you completely not crazy person."_

"_I love you too, Chloe. Call me the minute anything is happening."_

"_You know I will. Talk to you later." _

---

"My turn, Lo?"

"Yup."

"Alright. One birth story of twin Wayne's, coming up."

---

"_Fly. Faster."_

_Clark looked down at Lois, who was pulled against his body as she sat in his arms as they flew towards Gotham. _

"_I'm already flying faster than I should be with you, Lo. Hell, you have flying goggles on for that exact reason. But I refuse to fly quickly enough to endanger you. Chloe only went into labor about forty minutes ago, anyway, and you two talked before that. If she conforms to the average, her second labor and delivery will take less time but we'll be there a long time before we're needed."_

_Clark felt a tap on the side of his head and saw Lois shaking her hand before looking him in the eye. "Don't call Chloe average."_

"_I'm just saying that unless the babies fall out of her, time should not be a problem. Heck, there will probably be plenty of time for us to just sit around and wait while she and Bruce are in the room." _

"_We aren't going to be in there with her?"_

"_With her? Lo, I think our job is going to be to keep Jack occupied, not watch Chloe give birth. Also, why do you want to be in there with her? You had no inklings of being in with her and Bruce when Jack was born. Yeah, you're not the same person now, but there are some things I figured would stay consistent."_

_Lois looked away from him a moment before answering. "I just, ya know, want to know what goes on during it all."_

"_I'm sure Chloe will be happy to explain it all. I don't think, though, that she's really wanting to give you a show." He paused for a second. "Or, maybe she will. I can never really tell what you two are going to go for when it comes to the other."_

"_We're close, Smallville. I consider her my sister, for all intents and purposes, because I'm closer to her than my actual sister. She's not just some cousin that I can see often."_

_Clark smiled softly as he heard Lois talk about Chloe. "I know, Lois. I consider her a sister, too, when she is in fact a best friend and cousin-in-law."_

"_Good, then it's settled: if she's all right with it, we'll be in the delivery room with her."_

"_Whoa there, skippy. How did I end up in the delivery room?"_

"_It's the miracle of birth, Smallville. Why would you NOT want to be in the delivery room? I mean, if I recall the story correctly of Chloe knocking us out of our funk a few years back, you were extremely nonchalant about her whipping the girls out to feed Jack."_

"_Giving birth is just as natural as breast feeding, Lo, but I don't think Chloe is going to want me in the room staring at her vagina. Hell, I'm not ashamed to say that I don't want that. That has uncomfortable situation written all over it."_

"_Well jeez, you make it sound creepy. It's not like you'd be crouched down between her legs making shadow puppets on her while she goes through a contraction or something..."_

_Clark cringed and shook his head at the mental picture he got of that. Of course, it was shadow puppets on Lois he was seeing in his head because he had never seen Chloe there, but still not normal at all. "And there's a visual I'll never get out of my head."_

"_All that I'm saying is that if Chloe doesn't mind you in the delivery room, why not take advantage of it? It's not something you see every day."_

"_I'm kind of thankful for that, actually. Let me adapt an old quote from a tv show to describe it for you: she is going to fart, pee, puke and poop in front of no small number of people in that room, in all likelihood. All are part of birth, and ya know, if I have a choice I don't think I am going to watch her take part in all that. Yay for the girls, because I'll love them like I do Jack, but as far as being in there with her... well, she has a husband for that. I will lend my support by hanging out with Jack."_

"_I don't know, Smallville. I just like to be informed. I'd rather be a part of all the nitty gritty than just hear about it. I mean, if we can have kids, you are most definitely going to be in the room with me."_

"_You'll have trouble getting rid of me."_

"_So why not learn something this time if you can?"_

"_Because Chloe is not my wife, Lo, you are. If we can have kids and choose to, then I will be there with you for every single step. Kryptonite won't be able to stop me. But this time, since Chloe is having the babies, I am going to do my best impression of an uncle. I'm told it's pretty good since Jack calls me uncle." _

_When Lois didn't respond, Clark got to thinking on why she was so adamant about being in the room if Chloe would let them. Did she feel invested with the girls because she couldn't remember when Chloe was pregnant with Jack? No, she said that she wanted to see how things work... what was this all about? She'd never shown an ounce of interest in birth before. _

_When Jack was born she showed up to, in her words, bring ice chips and be nowhere near the business end of the birth. The two of them had waited a good portion of the time together in a tense, uncomfortable silence. Once he'd gotten to hold Jack, it had all kind of faded away, though. Lois looked like she had felt the same way. Not once, though, had she shown any interest in the how of Jack being born._

_Clark finally gave up on trying to figure it out on his own and decided to just ask. "Lois, why are you so interested in the inner workings of the twins birth?"_

"_Like I said, I like to know things. This is something that is pretty integral to life, since it kind of continues it, and so I'm curious. I like to know what happens and how, and the best way to do that is to be in there while it happens."_

"_Actually, the best way to find out about birth is to do it yourself, but you've always seemed opposed to that theory based on your inane belief that you'll be a bad mother."_

"_I think you have the phrase 'inane belief' confused with the phrase 'proven theory,' Smallville."_

"_And I think that you're being ridiculously stubborn, even for you. You were six, Lois. You can't compare having to be a surrogate mother as a young child to being a woman that has a good life and a good support group around her. But you won't need that support group because you will be so good as a mother that you won't let a child want for anything._

"_You take care of everybody around you, Lois. You take care of me every day, of Chloe whenever you have the chance and of Jack because you love that little boy like crazy. Hell, you even try to take care of Bruce! It would be no different if we had a child of our own, but I think that love would be so much more intense that you would barely let me even take part."_

"_Oh, come on..."_

"_I'm serious. If... no, when we have a baby someday, you are going to be a force to reckon with. You're going to be on top of everything and anticipate problems before they can become just that. You'll be amazing, Lois. I look forward to seeing that."_

_When Lois leaned her head into his shoulder, he figured that she'd heard enough. Nothing he'd ever said had seemed to have gotten through to her on this topic, no matter how much he poured into it, and he doubted that was changing now. God, he was probably getting his own hopes up that they could even have a biological child together. _

_Clark spotted the hospital about a mile away and landed not long after in an abandoned alley not far off. He watched Lois pull her flying goggles off and walk over to him. She stood in front of him for a second before grabbing his shirt and pulling him down and kissing him like they weren't going to see each other for years on end._

_Not that he was going to complain._

_He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her flush to him, provoking the kiss to go further, which it did. Clark couldn't recall a kiss this intense since the honeymoon, though. Granted, that was only a few weeks back, but this was one hell of a kiss._

_A few seconds later, Lois pulled away from him and started gulping air, taking in big, deep breaths that made her chest heave in an entirely appealing way. He found that he was a bit out of breath too._

"_What was that for?"_

"_I love you."_

"_Works for me. Ready to go see Chloe?"_

_She nodded and placed her hand in his, leaning up against him as they walked. He didn't know what it was, but apparently she was feeling affectionate today. Could birth be a turn on? Clark shook his head at that thought, realizing just how ridiculous it seemed. Yeah, there were some women that when they saw a baby had a biological clock moment, but Lois... he almost laughed at the thought. As convinced as she was of her potential awfulness, biological clock thoughts were probably something she'd never even thought about thinking._

_They walked into the hospital and Clark guided her to the elevators, which they took up to the third floor. They walked up to the nurses desk to see where Chloe was, and were told room 318. Making their way down the hall, Lois continued to stay in contact with him, and he still wasn't complaining. When they made it to the room, Clark knocked on the door before they walked in._

"_Anybody home?"_

"_Hey, guys!"_

_Clark smiled as they walked in to find Chloe laying on the bed with her arms crossed across her stomach. Bruce was holding Jack as they sat in a chair next to her bed. Lois was first to speak._

"_How ya doing, Chlo? You sound strangely cheery for what's going on."_

"_Nah. These are the easy contractions. Give me a few hours and there won't be an ounce of cheer left in me. Just gotta remind myself it's all for a good cause."_

"_Best cause I can think of, cuz. So, what do you need us to do?"_

_Chloe shook her head. "Nothing yet. Once we start getting into the brunt of it, though, I guess Clark will be the official Jack watchman. Lo, I am hereby appointing you head of ice chips. The name is fairly self explanatory, I think. An added responsibility of this title, though, is leg holder. Well, if you want it, anyway."_

_Clark looked from Lois to Chloe and decided ask the obvious question since Lois seemed to not be doing it. "So, she'll be in here with you during the birth of the girls?"_

"_If she wants to be."_

"_I do!" Clark wasn't surprised by the answer, and when he saw Chloe's face she didn't appear to be either. He figured she would have at least been surprised at the near shout of the answer "I mean, yeah, if that's what you need me to do, Chloe, I'm here to help."_

"_I don't think you said 'I do' that enthusiastically when we got married, Lo."_

_She rolled her eyes and Chloe started to speak._

"_Well, don't get in any huge rush. Contractions are still six minutes apart and not lasting all that long, though... yep, there's one now." Clark was surprised when Chloe just scrunched up her face for about thirty seconds and did some deep breathing. By this point with Jack she'd been yelling for drugs. She'd also been in labor a fair bit longer._

"_You seem to be doing better with them this time, Chloe."_

_She took a couple deep breaths before smiling at him. "Yeah, well, like I said before, give me a few hours and I'm sure I'll be using the full extent of my vocabulary._ _Hopefully, though, these girls will start life out as impatient as their mother is and just run towards the light, so to speak."_

_7 Hours Later_

"_I want mommy."_

_Clark looked down at Jack, who'd decided to take up residence in his lap, and smiled. "I know, buddy. Your sisters are being born, though, so mommy has to do that right now. I think you'll be able to see her soon, though."_

"_Where are my sisters coming from?"_

_Well, isn't that just the way. Clark thought that Chloe had mentioned Jack asking that when they told him about the twins, but he couldn't remember for the life of him what it had been that they'd told him. _

"_Well, that's a good question. I think once all is said and done, it's a good thing to ask your dad. He loves answering your questions and really, your uncle Clark doesn't have any kids so he's not entirely sure himself."_

_He was really going to have to come up with something better if he and Lois ever had kids. He certainly wouldn't have the same excuse. _

"_Ok. I'm thirsty."_

"_Would you like to get some water from the water fountain?"_

_Jack nodded, prompting Clark to stand and carry jack over to the nearest water fountain. He held him up with one arm and pushed the button with the other. Jack drank for a few seconds before pulling his face away. Clark let go of the button and swiped a little water off of Jack's chin as_ _they went back to their chairs. _

_Clark noticed that Jack's eyes were starting to droop, and he didn't blame the little guy. When Lois had talked to Chloe this morning they'd just gotten to work and she'd called Lois back about two hours later to say that she was in labor. They'd arrived nearly an hour later and had been at the hospital ever since. Clark had spent most of his time with the little boy, who had forgone a nap in the excitement of the day._

_He smiled as they sat down and Jack laid his head back against his chest. Clark started telling him a story about one of the times they'd fought a meteor-infected person in Smallville, and lulled him to sleep quickly. He hoped that was just a sign of a tired little boy and not a knock against his story telling. One way or another, the boy was getting some much needed rest._

_Clark looked up at one of the clocks, noting the time as he looked back at the television. He'd asked the Justice League to cover Metropolis for the day, and should the need arise Ollie had come to Gotham to handle any business Batman may be needed for. _

_He'd kept his ear trained on Metropolis, and had only heard one incident where Superman normally would have been needed. J'onn had handled it without problem, though Clark was going to have to ask him to about what he'd told the people that had asked him why he was there instead of Superman._

_Allowing his eyes to slide closed, he took in a few long breaths through his nose, taking in the smell of the day. Not surprisingly, it smelled like hospital. He opened his eyes again and looked around the waiting room. There wasn't much to look at; he and Jack had been the only ones there for a good four or five hours now, which he thought odd for a hospital, even if it was more tailored towards the higher income folk of Gotham. _

_Clark watched the television on the other side of the room, tuning his hearing into it. Unfortunately, it was some show about how to stay healthy. Clark looked down at Jack, still sleeping against him, then back at the television. He spotted a remote on a table not too far away, except for the fact that he didn't want to wake up a certain small child. It was times like these that he really wished telekinesis was a power of his._

_Twenty minutes later, as he listened intently to a PSA about not drinking while pregnant, Clark heard footsteps coming towards the waiting room and hoped like crazy it was somebody with news. When a nurse simply walked by, throwing him a smile and a 'How cute!' at Jack's sleeping form, Clark sighed and laid his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. _

"_Hey, Smallville."_

_Clark opened his eyes and blinked a couple times before looking over to his left and spotting Lois. He sat up slowly and wiped a hand over his face before looking down at Jack, finding the boy to still be asleep._

"_Hey. Are the girls here?"_

"_Yes, sir. Aly and Liz Wayne."_

_Clark smiled and stood up slowly, adjusting Jack so that he was resting his head on his shoulder. "How was it?"_

_Clark watched as Lois opened her mouth to speak before closing it again, frowning a bit. She took a second before speaking. "It was... well, it was everything you said it would be."_

"_Four for four, eh?"_

"_Yep. But, we got two nieces out of the deal so you'll never hear me describe it as anything but a great experience I'll never forget... so to speak, of course."_

"_I'm glad. When can Jack and I see them?"_

"_Few minutes. I told Chloe we'd be outside the room then and that she could get us once they were done with the Apgar stuff. Of course, I didn't think you two would be sleeping."_

_Clark checked a clock and noticed that he'd only been asleep for about fifteen minutes. "I hadn't been asleep very long. I think I was lulled into it by Jack."_

_Lois rolled her eyes at him and took Jack off him and into her arms. She ran a hand over his back before patting it a few times before starting to speak to him. "Hey, Jack. Jackie boy, time to wake up. Your sisters are here and want to meet you."_

_Watching her with Jack, Clark was more convinced than ever that Lois would make a good mom. How the hell could she fail at it? She never failed at anything, least of all anything that was truly important to her._

_He stirred and turned his head towards Lois, opening his eyes to sleepy slits. "Can I see mommy now?"_

"_You can in just a couple minutes. They're doing some stuff with the babies, but will be done soon and then you can see mommy, daddy and your new sisters." She looked up at Clark. "Do you think Chloe wants to be the one to tell him their names?"_

_Clark shrugged, thinking about it a second before answering. "Better safe than sorry. Let's wait until he's in the room and she's there for it."_

_They started walking towards Chloe's room, slowly making their way through the halls. _

"_Truthfully, Smallville, I don't know how many decisions Chloe is going to be making. She's the living embodiment of spent." Lois paused and Clark saw her start smiling. "She did great, though. Was a real trooper, going through it all drugless. That said, I think she may have hung around with some questionable folk at some point because I could not believe some of the words coming out of her mouth a few hours ago."_

"_Yeah, I caught a bit of that when Jack was born. I decided not to listen in this time so as not to get my ears singed. I think you're the questionable folk, though."_

"_Good call. The not listening part, not the me being questionable folk part. That's just a ridiculous notion no matter how true it probably is."_

_They got to the room and Clark took Jack from Lois as she peeked her head into the room to see if they could go in. She turned and nodded before opening the door and walking in. Clark followed and found Chloe sitting in the bed, holding one of the girls and Bruce standing next to her, holding the other. It was just about the most familial thing he'd ever seen._

"_Mommy!"_

_Clark looked over at a now wide awake Jack before looking over at Chloe and smiling. "He's been missing his mom. How are you doing?"_

"_Great. Sore, but great." She looked over at Jack. "You wanna sit with me on the bed?"_

_He nodded and Clark walked over, putting him down lightly next to Chloe. She turned her upper body so that Jack could get a good view of the baby she was holding. "Jack, I would like to introduce you to Alyson, the first of your two new sisters. We're going to call her Aly for short."_

"_And this," Bruce said as he walked around to stand next to Jack, "is your second sister Elizabeth, who we'll be calling Liz."_

"_They're so small."_

_Clark nearly broke out laughing when Chloe snorted at the statement. "Small is a relative thing, Jack. I'll explain it to you when you're older."_

_Jack snuggled into Chloe's side and was asleep within a few minutes. Clark noticed this as it was happening and didn't say anything, but figured Chloe might not be all that comfortable without her son keeping her from moving, even if she wasn't moving much herself._

"_Chlo, do you want me to move Jack?"_

"_Nah, he's fine where he is."_

_Lois moved over and stood next to him, and together they watched as the family was all together. "Kind of a cool scene, isn't it?"_

"_It really is." He grinned and pulled out the camera he'd grabbed when they were leaving earlier that day from his pocket. He was still surprised the thing could even be called a camera, as small as it was. With a bit of stealth, he got them all lined up well in the picture and took it before any could raise an objection. _

"_Jeez, Clark, thanks. Couldn't you wait until I didn't look as exhausted?"_

"_You expect me to wait until the twins are what, two years old?" He grinned when she rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, Chloe. You've got that new mom beauty to you. The picture will reflect that."_

"_It better, or I'm coming for you."_

_A little while later, Clark was holding Liz and smiling down at her when he noticed that Lois wasn't in the room with them. Chloe was getting some well deserved rest after having fed both the girls, which apparently happened a lot quicker than it had with Jack. Bruce looked like he was getting pretty tired too, even with Aly in hand._

"_Bruce, why don't we go find Lois. She can take over Aly duties so you can go home with Jack and catch some sleep."_

_Bruce nodded. "I think a few hours would do me some good right now. Lead the way."_

_Clark walked out of the room and to the waiting room, where he figured Lois was. That was exactly where he found her, writing in a little diary looking thing he'd never seen before. _

"_Hey, Lo, what're you doing?"_

_She looked up and smiled, closing what she was writing in. "Just writing down a few things about today while they're fresh. Want to be able to reference it if I need to so I don't forget how big the girls were at birth and other details of the sort."_

_Clark shrugged and nodded towards Bruce. "How about you take Aly for a little while so that Bruce can catch a little sleep. Chloe's already snoozing with Jack, but Bruce is going to take him home so he can get some real sleep in his own bed." _

_Lois nodded, and after packing her little book in her purse, she stood and took Aly from Bruce, getting her cradled into her arms._

"_When Chloe wakes up, tell her I'll be back soon and that Jack is sleeping at home now. I'll check in and make sure everything's been quiet, too."_

_Clark nodded and Bruce walked off. He and Lois stood there, each with a baby in tow. He was the first to speak. "This is nice, isn't it?"_

_She looked away from Aly and at him, smiling. "It is. Granted, they're currently being peaceful so we're not getting hit with the full force of babyness." _

"_That is very true. What do they have to cry about, though? They have two great parents that love them like crazy, not to mention an aunt and uncle that are actually second cousins, one of which that's an in-law..._

"_You're rambling, Smallville."_

"_Right. They have good family, so they have nothing to cry about in my book."_

"_I don't think good family accounts for the fact that they go to the bathroom in their pants and have very little muscle control, no to mention they can't feed themselves."_

_Clark couldn't really argue with that. "I say if you have good family, that'll all be taken care of so you got no worries." Didn't mean he wouldn't. He watched as Lois smiled and just rocked Aly back and forth as they walked small circles around the waiting room. _

"_You're ridiculous, Smallville. All kinds of cute, but ridiculous none the less."_

_Clark smiled at her before looking at Liz again. Maybe it was the smushed face she was currently sporting, but one parent did not seem to stand out in her features. With Jack, it had been like looking at a little Chloe. It still was, although it was now a little male Chloe. "I can't tell if either one looks more like on parent or the other."_

"_All I can see in Aly is that she has her mother's nose. Other than that, I couldn't pick out what she got from who if you paid me to try."_

"_I'm having the same problem, except I don't even have the nose to work with on Liz. She's like the perfect meld of Chloe and Bruce. Scary kinds of perfect, really."_

"_I think it's better that way, really. I always think that if you look more like one parent than the other you're going to be compared to that parent more than the other. Look at Jack, for example. The only way he could look more like Chloe would be if he was a girl, and I always compare him to her because when I think about him, I think about their physical similarity._"

_Clark though about it for a second. Did he do that too? He probably did, but was it necessarily for that reason? "Yeah, but of the two parents you're also Chloe's cousin. Your natural first inclination is going to be to think about Chloe when you think about Jack because of how he's related to you. _

"_I think the same will happen with Aly and Liz. When you think of them, they'll be Chloe's daughters and therefore you'll probably think about them in terms of Chloe. Now, of course, since you've known Bruce for a long time you will obviously compare them to him, too, just not as much in all likelihood."_

_They spent the next hour debating on how each would think about the girls, checking in on Chloe to see if she were still asleep every few minutes. She woke up once, making sure that the girls weren't getting fussy and then proceeded to conk out again. It wasn't until a couple hours from then that Chloe woke up and decided to stay up and see if the girls wanted to eat again. She took Aly first. As she was transferred from aunt to mom, she decided to move around and cry out a bit._

"_Wiggly little girl you got there, Chloe."_

"_Yeah. Call it a hunch, but I have a feeling Aly is going to be more like me and Liz is going to be more like her father. She's already more calm than her sister." Chloe got Aly situated on her nipple and she started to nurse. "Really, though, I think she just wanted to stay with her aunt Lois."_

"_Ha! I find that highly unlikely."_

_Clark smiled down at Liz a second, who was quietly sleeping, before looking back up to find Lois eyeing him. "What?"_

"_I'm not sure that Liz is calm because of her personality so much as because you're amazing with kids, Smallville. If you were looking for a new job, you could make a bundle as a male nanny."_

_Clark rolled his eyes before he walked over to Chloe and sat Liz down in her arms on the other side, which seemed to wake her up a bit as she opened her eyes to a squint. Chloe looked up at him before getting her situated on a nipple like she had Aly. _

"_Ya know, had I not just seen how gently you put her down and how she woke up anyway, I wouldn't have believed Lois. Are you sure you don't have the power of baby calming, too?"_

"_That's hilarious, Chloe."_

"_I thought so, though if you guys leave in a few days and can't get the girls to calm down, I'm bringing you back to test the theory." Chloe looked down at herself and let out a small laugh. "I wonder if having two babies means I won't have to use a pump to relieve pressure."_

_Clark frowned not exactly sure what that meant. Apparently Chloe noticed and started speaking again. "When I had Jack, if he only ate from one breast, the other one could get... full would be the term, I guess, and I'd have to use the breast pump to keep it from getting backed up."_

_Clark suddenly had the image of what he would find in backed up pipes on the farm related to breast feeding. "Huh. That makes two mental pictures I'll never be able to forget in just one day."_

_Chloe smiled. "What was the other?"_

"_Let's just say it involved shadow puppets and me being in the room while you gave birth. I always knew I had a wife that wasn't normal before that, but I never knew that she was downright odd until then."_

"_Yeah, that's definitely out there."_

_Just then Bruce walked in with a bouquet of flowers. "Hello, all." He walked up to Chloe and kissed on the forehead. "How are you feeling?"_

"_Better, now that I got some rest. How did you sleep?"_

"_Well. Jack's asleep in his own bed and Alfred has been fielding phone calls about if the girls were born yet for half the day. Apparently there was a picture of us coming in today."_

"_Ah well, word was bound to get out anyway. I think people would have noticed me not looking like a house and two babies with us."_

"_That does seem likely, yes."_

_The conversation would have continued, but Clark's and all other eyes went to Lois when she yawned like she hadn't slept in years. "Tired?"_

"_Me, Smallville? Never. Just need coffee."_

"_I think you need rest, cuz. Why don't you guys head back to the manor and get some sleep. You can be there for Jack when he wakes up. He always seems to be thrilled when he finds Clark is staying at the manor."_

_Lois smiled at Chloe. "Don't have to twist my arm. We'll bring Jack by in the morning to see the girls and NOT fall asleep minutes later. Once again, great job, Chloe."_

"_Thanks, Lois. Bye, guys."_

_Clark flew Lois to the manor, then made a quick trip back to their place in Metropolis to get the bags she hadn't wanted to take the time to stop for earlier. Walking back into their room at the manor, he found it empty and figured Lois was in the bathroom. He dropped her bag on her side of the bed before sitting down on his and pulling off his shoes and socks. _

_By the time Lois came out of the bathroom Clark was down to his boxers and yawning. That abruptly stopped when he noticed the complete lack of clothing his wife had chosen to enter the room in._

"_What... what's the occasion, Lois?"_

"_We're newlyweds, Smallville. I think you get the picture." _

_She walked over to him in a much more swaying style than she usually had, which was entirely unnecessary but entirely enjoyable, and straddled his lap, pushing him back so that he was laying back and she was over him. When she kissed him, it dwarfed the passion he'd felt when they'd kissed earlier in the day. _

_Man, what if birth actual was a turn on for her? He knew that Lois had some quirks... hell, he'd taken part in some of those quirks. But this... this would take the cake, because it would be downright out there, considering her stance on what she would be like as a mother._

_It also might be the most aggressive she'd ever been in going for it, and that was saying something considering that she like to use the 'Clarkie and Sailor' routine, as they called it, for her go to move. Not that she really needed any moves to get him into bed. If that ever became a problem during the entirety of his life, there would be something seriously wrong with him._

_Clark soon found himself without boxers and was reaching to find a condom when he felt her grab his arm._

"_Don't. Just us tonight, ok?"_

"_Are you sure, Lo? What if..."_

"_Just us, Clark."_

_He smiled and leaned down, kissing her. If she didn't want anything between them, he wasn't going to push things. She was probably at a point in her cycle where she couldn't get pregnant anyway._

_He slowly pushed into her, staring straight into her eyes as he did so. They stayed that way for a moment before he started moving, as slowly as he could make himself. She wanted nothing between them tonight, so he was going to make this last as long as he could. He kept going slowly, despite her cues to go faster. He couldn't tell how much time had passed, but both were gasping with the buildup._

_He knew he wasn't going to hold out any longer when she started crying out and contracting around him for the second time. He couldn't believe he'd held out through the first. He breathed her name and buried his face in her shoulder as he reached orgasm. _

_It took a couple minutes to catch his breath fully, and he wasn't sure his brain would ever recover. He couldn't remember ever working so hard without it requiring him to lift a building._

"_That was... amazing." He rolled off the top of her and pulled her close. _

"_Yeah, it really was." He could tell she was smirking at him just from the tone of her voice. "But that was extra amazing." _

_As much as he disliked it, Clark's inquisitive side won out and he had to figure out why she'd been so affectionate today. "Listen, Lo, I am in no way complaining about anything. Trust me, that will never, ever happen. I just... you've been extra affectionate and generous with the touches today, and I was just wondering... why?"_

_She didn't answer for a moment, and he worried that he'd worded the question poorly and said it wrong. She liked to complain that he didn't word his questions aggressively enough when they were interviewing people and he'd been working on it, though he doubted he'd ever have the forthright questions in his arsenal Lois seemed to have. _

_His thought process was interrupted by a hand caressing his face, which prompted him to look down at her._

"_I talked to Chloe while she was pregnant, I talked to her through the birth and I talked to her when she was breast feeding to her two newborn daughters for the first time all in one day. I got to witness the births of two little girls that are going to leave a mark on this world, along with their big brother. It's just been a very life affirming day and I wanted it to end with a life affirming activity, Smallville." She sighed, sounding audibly content. "My Smallville."_

_She stretched up and kissed him softly, effectively blowing his theory out of the water. Hers did make a lot more sense. She still seemed a little... not weird, really, just different. Apparently a life affirming day topped off with a life affirming activity made her all nostalgic or something, because she rarely said 'My Smallville' to him unless she was nostalgic or worried, and she certainly didn't seem worried. Whatever it was, he liked it. _

"_Good explanation."_

"_What did you think it was?"_

_Clark could feel heat rising in his cheeks. "I, uh... well, I didn't want to say it and thinking about it now just makes me feel like an idiot, but I thought you were turned on by Chloe giving birth."_

_She looked up at him, wearing an unbelieving expression. "You did not."_

"_I really did."_

"_That's... wow, Smallville. That's right up there with the shadow puppets visual and your probably disgusting mental image of Chloe having backed up milk ducts on the weird factor."_

"_In my defense, a logical explanation rarely applies to you." He laughed and wrapped her up in his arms when she smacked him in the chest. "Are you going to refute that?"_

"_Hell yes I am!"_

_Before she could get any further, Clark pulled her up and kissed her. So far, it was the only way he'd ever figured out to effectively keep her from refuting his arguments. It was a good thing he enjoyed it so much, else he may never have been right about anything._

_- - -_

"Ya know, you told the whole story and I still have no idea what you guys were trying to keep from me."

"That night was the only two times we made love without protection, Lo."

"What... wait, Jordan was conceived literally hours after Chloe gave birth to the girls?"

Clark smiled and nodded. "Like you said, it was a life affirming day, and ended up being one of the best in our entire lives, because as a result we have that little girl sleeping in the other room."

"Okay, yeah, good day, that one. I still would have preferred to have been told straight out."

"We know, cuz, and this is the only story we'll do it with. Probably."

"Very helpful."

"I like to think so." Chloe yawned and stretched as she stood up. "Alright kids, time for me to head out. Clark, mind if I catch a ride?"

"Not at all. I need to take a look around the city anyway." After bidding goodbye to her cousin, Lois watched as they flew off. How had _that_ become the norm?

Finally having some time to think things through, she wondered why the hell the diary hadn't said anything about her actually being in the room when the twins were born. What, had she planned to surprise herself with that story when she forgot? That really seemed like pertinent information she wouldn't mind knowing. So far the thing hadn't steered her wrong, and while technically this wasn't must have info, it would have been a good thing to let herself know.

Ah well, no use crying over spilt milk.

Lois went and changed into some looser fitting clothing and sat down on the couch, turning on the television and finding something to occupy her while she waited for Clark to return. She thought about reading a diary entry, but didn't know how long Clark would be gone and didn't feel like getting interrupted.

She yawned and looked at the clock, wondering when Clark would be back so they could hit the sack. 10:30 p.m. God, she was old.

A few minutes later Clark was back and they headed to bed. Lois rested her head on his chest, and smiled when AJ flutter-kicked. They were really starting to get less fluttery and more kicky every day. She grabbed Clark's hand and pulled it down to her stomach.

"Can you feel that yet?"

"Nope. Sorry." He turned his head and kissed her lightly. "Goodnight. Love you."

"Love you, too, and if you don't feel that soon I'm going to kick you myself."

"I won't really feel that either."

"You suck."


	48. Chapter 48

---- Chapter 48

"All right, so we're on a roll, knocking these stories out left and right. Let's keep things going, Smallville, so that I'm not hearing about things that happened a few months ago a few months from now. You can't have THAT many stories left."

Lois watched as Clark ladled some stew into a bowl for her and handed it to her. "Well, it helps that everything happens in a short amount of time in these stories. We go from wedding to twins and conception in a month and a half. Of course, you didn't tell me you were pregnant until February 7, which was two months later. Compared to time between other stories, though, not all that long."

She blew on a bite of stew, sticking it in her mouth and watched Jordan eat a cracker while she chewed. She looked back up at Clark and she swished her spoon around in the stew, moving some meat around so she could get at it more easily.

"Why did I wait so long to tell you?"

"Well, the essence of that is in the story, but one reason is that you took your time figuring it out. I think Chloe and mom knew before you did, but we're not going that far back."

"Well that's... not flattering. Shouldn't a woman be the first to knew that she's pregnant?"

Lois took a bite, chewing a chunk of meat and scowling at the same time. How had they known before her? Yeah, Martha was Martha and always seemed to know everything before everybody else. And Chloe had been pregnant twice by that point, so she knew what the less obvious signs were because she'd lived them... ok, well, now that she thought about it, of course they knew before she did. Aside from staying in shape, she'd never been exactly tuned in to her body anyway.

"You're talking about my mom and Chloe, who'd been pregnant twice by then and is super observational woman anyway. I wasn't surprised about it at all."

Hadn't she just been thinking that? "Ah well. The important part was we were having a baby, no matter if the aunt and grandmother knew before either of the parents." She chewed on a piece of meat a moment before speaking again. "That is just not a normal sentence, no matter how abnormal our lives are."

"It does seem a little off, doesn't it?"

"Were you pregnant with me?"

Both Lois and Clark looked down at Jordan, who was grabbing another cracker and dipping it in what was left of her small bowl of stew. It was an odd thing; here was a three year old girl, just going about her business of eating dinner and paying attention to what they were talking about. Yet she didn't seem affected by it all. It was just something happening near her. Lois wondered if that was unique to Jordan. She figured the very good observation skills probably were.

"I was, baby girl, and I was happy. I was probably nervous, though, because I didn't know if I was going to be a very good mommy. I didn't think I would be a good mommy for a long time." Well, that was more information than she had intended.

"Why not?"

Lois wondered how much she could tell Jordan about her giant heaps of insecurities. She decided to go with most of the truth, but to keep it vague.

"When I was young, some things happened that meant I had to take care of your aunt Lucy. I kind of had to be a substitute mom, and things didn't go all that well. I was too young, and Lucy had some wild days that I thought were my fault. It made me think that if I ever became a mother to children of my own, that the same thing would happen. I didn't want that kind of experience for my children, for you and AJ."

Jordan looked up at her, and Lois could see the gears turning. "But, where was your mommy?"

Lois smiled and stood up, walking around the table and pulling a chair with her so that she could sit closely next to Jordan. She ran a hand through her daughter's hair a few times, hoping at the same time that she would understand what she told her but wouldn't be able to comprehend it fully.

"My mommy passed away when I was a few years older than you were. My daddy was very sad, so I wanted to help and make sure he didn't have to worry about Lucy and I. I tried to be the mommy, in a way, but it didn't work very well. Lucy didn't like me trying to boss her around."

"Will Almond Joy like it if I boss him around when we're older?"

Lois smiled before placing a kiss on her head. "Not if he's anything like his parents, no. Well, me more so than you father. I have a feeling that your brother is going to be a lot like his old man, much like you're very similar to your mother."

"I like being like you, mommy. You're loud!"

Lois looked back at Clark, who'd broke out into laughter. He looked like he was about ready to fall out of his chair.

"It's not _that_ funny, Smallville."

He calmed down a second later, making a show at wiping tears from his eyes that she didn't think were really there.

"It's pretty funny, Lois. I think Chloe's going to get a kick out of it when I tell her about it as we move them in to the house tomorrow."

"Yeah, well, when we have a broody son I'm sending you to snap him out of it."

"I doubt that will work. It took you to snap me out of it for good, and I expect it will take you or the love of a woman much like you to do the same, should our son carry my affliction of excessive introspection."

"Excessive introspection? Yeah, right. You had broodiness and mopiness syndrome, much like all that awful emo music from when my brain thinks is recently. It was just musical whining, really, and not even good musical whining. You? Didn't even have the music to fall back on."

"What's introspection?"

They both looked down at Jordan again before looking at each other. "Model parenting on our part. We should probably stop forgetting she's there, Smallville."

"Probably." He looked away from her to Jordan, and Lois dragged her bowl across the table and took a bite of her rapidly cooling stew. "Introspection is a big, fancy word for saying that you think about what you are thinking and feeling. You kinda try to figure out why you feel the way you feel or figure out why something happened."

Jordan looked at him a second before speaking. "That's silly."

Lois nearly choked on some meat as she started laughing. God, she loved her daughter. She could virtually feel Clark's eyes rolling, but she didn't care. The food finally got down a moment later before she could speak, and she really had something to say.

"Out of the mouths of babes, Smallville. You can't argue that."

He just scratched at his head. "It's unbelievable how she already thinks exactly like you. Just uncanny how she takes everything you've ever said and puts it in small sentences to make me feel ridiculous."

Lois grinned and pulled Jordan into a hug. "Don't you dare ever change, baby girl."

"Okay, mommy."

Lois sighed as Jordan moved back to her chair and started eating crackers dipped in stew again. She meant what she said about not changing, but she knew what a life with her personality held in store. Hopefully there was enough of Clark in her little girl's head to offset all her crazy.

"Alright, Smallville. Story time. Let's have it."

"Right. February 7th, 2018. Or, well... I guess we could do a little buildup to that. Looking back, the day before had all sorts of me being oblivious to signs I probably should have noticed."

"I want it all, Smallville."

"Well then here it comes."

---

"_Lois? Hey, you all right?"_

_She walked out of the women's restroom and shot him a small, pale grin. "Yeah. Still just sporting a stomach bug, Smallville."_

"_A stomach bug that's been going on a few weeks now. Why won't you go to a doctor?"_

_She looked down at the ground a second before looking back up at him and answering. "Look, aside from my head being screwed up, I've been in fairly good health. Been that way all my life. When I get sick, though, it tends to last. After that, I don't get sick for a good long while, so I endure."_

_Clark sighed, wrapping an arm around Lois's waist as they started walking back to their desks. "Fine. I'm not going to pretend that I know your body better than you do, even if you do pay as little attention to it as you say you do."_

"_The only time it comes to my attention is when I'm hungry, sick or we're... you know." She grinned and waggled her eyebrows at him, causing him to lift his at her demeanor. He just shook his head, unable to comprehend how she could just shake this off._

"_Then I trust your judgement. Just... if this goes on much longer, promise me you'll consider seeing a doctor, all right? I don't want you letting this nausea going on longer than it has to. It's not natural that you're eating so little. Feels weird to have food left on the table."_

_They got to their desks and faced each other, smiling. She leaned into his body for a second before sitting down in her chair. "I don't think that'll be a problem, Smallville. I'm pretty sure I'll be ravenous once this is over with. Might even gain a little weight in the short term."_

_Clark sat down, grinning. "Do whatever you want, so long as you're healthy. I love you too much to care if you put on a few pounds. You'll always be beautiful to me."_

_He looked down at some papers on his desk when he thought he heard her mumble something about keeping that in mind, so he looked up. "What?"_

"_Nothing. Say, uh, where are we on the Jacobson article?"_

"_Just needs some touch ups, really." He passed the copy he'd printed out over to her so she could take a look. Perry had assigned them an article on a local philanthropist that had been disgraced for some crafty accounting. It was an operation he thought Lex Luthor could have been proud of._

"_Let's redo the last section. It's more than a touch up, but I don't like the way we ended it. It doesn't flow with the rest of the written words."_

"_As opposed to all the spoken words in there."_

"_Ha, ha."_

_Clark grinned and sat back in his chair. "Hey, you use phrases I can make fun of and I'll do so. It's not like I don't get the same every day."_

"_Well, obviously you need to work on what you say, Smallville." She paused a second and took a couple deep breaths, closing her eyes as she did so. That seemed to be the cue for her to be throwing up in the near future. He stood up and walked around the desks, kneeling next to her. "Lo, come on. It hasn't even been ten minutes since you last threw up. All you ate this morning and for lunch were crackers! I'm surprised you've got anything left in the tank, so to speak."_

_She ran a hand back through her hair, opening her eyes and taking a breath in through her nose before she spoke. "I told you, I'll be fine. Where most women have diets, I have this. I will be fine... but right now I'm gonna be sick."_

_Lois got up out of her chair and jogged to the bathroom, leaving Clark to let his head drop. He'd just had to marry a stubborn woman. He couldn't have fallen in love with somebody docile and easy going. No, it had to be Lois, the woman that knew twelve ways to stress him out in twelve minutes when she would set her mind to it. Of course, she was usually setting her mind to getting a story, but one always seemed to beget the other._

_With a long and unnecessary groan, Clark stood up again and made his way over to the women's restroom again. Lois felt self-conscious about throwing up in front of other people, which he found amazing since she had never been self-conscious about anything before, so he would run interference for her whilst she was occupied with her new habit._

"_C.K.!"_

_Clark turned around and spotted Jimmy walking towards him. "Hey, Jimmy. How's it going?" _

"_Good. Running interference for Lois again?"_

"_You got it. She still refuses to see a doctor, no matter how much I push her to do so. I know she's not afraid of going to one because I've seen her do so without problem, so I guess she just wants to fight through this on her own."_

"_She still says it's a stomach bug?" Clark nodded. "Weird. Most stomach bugs I know of clear up after days, not weeks. Could she be pregnant?"_

_Clark thought about it a second before shaking his head. "Not that I know of. I don't keep track of her monthly stuff, but she hasn't really broken stride on any of her normal activities that I've seen. Plus, given her stance on what she would be like as a mother, I'm assuming I still have a good bit of work to do before I can even get the idea of children in her head."_

"_Just keep it in mind, C.K. Stranger things have happened than Lois Lane as a mommy."_

"_Mind mentioning one?"_

_Jimmy grinned and started walking away, calling back over his shoulder. "I'll get back to you on that."_

_A few hours later they walked into their apartment, Lois leaning lightly on him as they walked. He was far from surprised since she'd thrown up all the food she'd taken in all day. She hadn't felt too bad since the one where Jimmy had been by, though, so at least there was that. _

_He took her coat and hung it up along with his in the closet. "You think you're going to be able to eat anything tonight, Lo?"_

"_I want to and I don't want to. I can't not eat, though. Just seems like it would be detrimental to the... to my health."_

"_What do you think could be plain enough not to send you heaving in twenty minutes?"_

_She sighed as she sat down on the couch, rolling her neck a second before letting it relax. "Probably boneless, skinless, tasteless chicken. Even if I do end up throwing up, I'll still get some of the protein from the meat into my system."_

_Clark looked at her, wondering just exactly why she was talking about getting the protein into her system. He was fairly certain that before that she had never once mentioned anything about ever getting some protein into her body. Of course, he'd never seen her sick like this before, so maybe she knew what she was talking about._

"_Ok. Boneless, skinless and tasteless chicken it is. I'll run to the store to get some and holy cow, I can't believe we almost forgot."_

"_Can't believe we almost forgot what?"_

"_We told Chloe and Bruce we'd fly in to celebrate Jack's birthday, remember? I've been so worried about you being sick that it completely slipped my mind. I'm just glad we got his present a couple weeks ago."_

_Clark walked over to the closet and pulled out the present they'd gotten him, a toy bat, along with the presents his mom had sent along for Jack and the twins. He knew what she'd gotten Jack, but had no idea what she was sending along for the girls. He knew they were too young for present envy that he figured young siblings could get, so maybe it was clothes. Chloe liked to say that she could never have enough clothes with the girls growing like weeds._

_Clark put the presents down and did a quick change into his Superman outfit, which he always wore when flying, before picking them up again and walking over to Lois, who'd shrugged her coat on. _

"_Are you going to be ok for the flight?"_

"_Yeah. I plan on closing my eyes and resting for most of it so that I'm not exhausted after twenty minutes of talking to Chloe, so I doubt I'll even notice until you're touching down."_

_Forty five minutes later, they were walking into the Wayne Manor. What they came into appeared to be the place where a large party had exploded. There were decorations everywhere. He followed the path of a piece of confetti that got blown off an air vent as the heat turned on and then let his eyes glide across the room._

"_It looks like a party threw up in here, Smallville."_

_Clark shook his head before speaking. "Only you could say that after being sick to your stomach for weeks on end."_

"_That's exactly why I can say it. Come on, let's get this show on the road. I wanna see my nieces and nephew."_

_He followed as Lois made her way through all the decoration back towards the kitchen. That seemed to be their place of congregation more so than any of the living rooms or dens, oddly enough. He figured that it just proved that people would always be where the food was._

_They finally made it through the color explosion and back into the kitchen, where they found then entirety of the Wayne clan. Lois spoke first._

"_Happy birthday, Jack!"_

_Jack ran over and hugged himself to her legs, getting a hug and a hair mussing in return. Clark sat the presents down on the counter as Jack jogged to him and he pulled him up into a hug. "Happy birthday, buddy. How have all your presents been?"_

"_Good! I got a baseball glove, some games and a new bike!"_

_Clark looked over at Chloe. "Another one?"_

_She shrugged. "The one we got him a few months ago was run over yesterday. It was a last minute thing." She looked like she was going to say more, but her eyes shifted from him to Lois. "You look terrible, cuz. Still sick?"_

_Lois nodded. "It's not so bad, but it's got me exhausted."_

"_Yeah, I know how you feel."_

_Clark put Jack back down and walked over to Lois, standing beside her and easing her hand into his. If this was a situation of not so bad, he didn't want to see what qualified for actually being bad. He looked over at Chloe. "You been under the weather, too?"_

_She shook her head and smiled. "Not for a while now, no."_

_He frowned. "Then what..."_

"_Hey! Why don't we have Jack open presents?"_

"_Yeah!"_

_Clark looked over at his wife, still frowning. She grinned up at him, then smiled sheepishly before pulling the presents off the counter and handing Jack the one from them. He tore through the paper quickly and found what awaited him underneath._

"_A bat! Can we go hit, dad?"_

"_How about you open your present from grandma Martha first?"_

_He did so, finding the signed ball. Had it been the first thing he opened or had Jack been older than four, Clark figured it would have been a meaningful thing. Clark grabbed the other present and handed it to Chloe._

"_What's this?"_

"_From mom, for the girls."_

_Chloe's eyes brightened and she opened up the package, and the first thing she pulled out was a yellow looking thing_._ "This is just too cute for words! Did your mom make this?"_

"_I have no idea."_

_She pulled out a pink one as he spoke. "That just might be the most adorable thing I've ever seen. The girls are going to look great in these."_

"_I'll be sure to pass on your thanks."_

"_Thank you. It's just too bad that the girls are going to grow out of them so quickly. Come a month from now I won't be able to see anybody in these things unless I give them to somebody else with a baby, or at least one on the way."_

_Lois started coughing and Clark looked down at her. "You all right?"_

"_Yeah, no, just swallowed funny. So, how are we going to get Jack some swings with his new bat? Last I checked it's pretty dark outside."_

"_There are a couple floodlights out back. We can turn them on and there should be plenty of light for a few tosses."_

_Clark looked over to Bruce. "You want to pitch?"_

"_I think we can share responsibility."_

_Clark nodded, smiling as Jack grabbed the bat. "Let's go!"_

"_Hey cuz, will you take Aly out with you?"_

"_Yeah, sure." Clark watched as Chloe handed off the now bundled baby to Lois, who looked at her and smiled. "Hey there, kiddo. I always seem to end up with you in my arms these days." She bounced her a few times, getting what sounded like a giggle._

"_You're really good with her, Lo."_

_Lois looked up at him, still smiling. "Yeah, well, she's an easy little thing, despite the fact that Chloe insists she'll be just like her."_

"_Certainly worse people to be like."_

_Lois's smile faltered a bit, and he stepped closer. He didn't think he'd said anything wrong. Maybe she thought he was implying something. "Hey, what happened? You looked as happy as I've seen you all week just a moment ago."_

_She shook her head. "It's nothing, Let's go catch up with the happy family out back so you can toss the ball to Jack a few times."_

_They walked out back in silence, and Clark wondered what exactly it was that had caused her smile to go away. He hated it when she stopped smiling; she lit up rooms for him when she really got going sometimes. _

_He heard her speaking quietly to Aly as they stepped out back, and he smiled to himself as he walked towards Jack and Bruce. He looked back over his shoulder and saw Lois stand next to Chloe, each standing and watching as Jack and Bruce played baseball. For a second he felt like he's was in some ideal 50's setting of gender roles and the American dream, but he shook it off and caught a ball Bruce tossed to him._

"_All right Jack, you ready for the heat?"_

"_Yeah!"_

_Clark made a show of the windup before he tossed a big, looping underhand toss to Jack, who took a mighty swing at the ball and missed by about three feet while spinning himself around. Bruce walked up to him and knelt down. _

"_Great try, Jack. Be sure to keep your eye on the ball and you'll do great, alright?"_

_Jack nodded and Bruce backed away next to Clark, who once again made a big show of winding up to pitch before tossing another underhand. This time Jack made good contact, hitting the ball off past them both._

"_Good hit, buddy!"_

_Clark jogged and grabbed the ball, and when he got back found that Lois was grumbling about something. "What's up, Lo?"_

"_Oh, nothing. Aly just decided to give a little commentary on how I've been feeling recently."_

_She pointed at her shirt and Clark had to suppress a laugh, spotting where Lois had wiped some spit up off her shirt. "With commentary like that she may just be like her mother after all. Of course, I hope she uses words in the future when she's commenting on how I've been."_

"_Very funny." Lois handed Aly over to him, causing him to drop the ball so that he could get a good grip on her. "I'm going to go wash up. You guys going to be in the kitchen?"_

"_Yeah, cuz. We'll be doing cake."_

_Clark winced and looked at Lois. Surprisingly, she didn't appear to be green around the gills at the mention of food. "Sounds good. Back in a minute."_

_Lois walked off, and he thought he heard her mumble something about getting used to something, but he shook it off and looked down at Aly. Truth be told, he didn't hold her nearly as much as he did Liz. It was strange, but the kids had almost become something that they had split into his and hers, which wasn't something they had done with anything else. One way or another, though, he seemed to end up with Liz and Lois seemed to end up with Aly._

_They all walked inside and headed into the kitchen again. Chloe gave Liz to Bruce to hold so that she could get the cake out of the fridge. She sat it on the table and plunked candles into it. Lois walked back in as she was lighting them and Jack got hoisted up into a chair so that he could see the cake. Once the song was sung, he did his best to blow out all the candles. They all went out, though when Chloe winked at him he knew he hadn't been as sly as he'd hoped to be._

_Chloe started cutting slices and handing them out. Clark got a big one after setting Aly down in her mother's arms, much to his joy since they hadn't eaten dinner. While that may have suited Lois and her questionable stomach, Clark was starved. He hadn't eaten anything for lunch because he'd been needed for help with a fire in a high rise. It had taken the better part of his lunch hour just to make sure that the building was safe, not to mention that everybody that needed help got it._

_For breakfast all he'd had was a few crackers. Lois had told him that he could eat a full breakfast, but eating a full breakfast while she nibbled on a few crackers just seemed cruel to him, so he dined on crackers with her. Needless to say, they had not been the best to keep his appetite sated._

_When he finished, he was about to ask for another when Lois stepped in front of him. "Good God, cuz, where did you get this cake? It's amazing! You mind if I have seconds?"_

_Clark felt as shocked as he thought Chloe looked. "Uh... yeah, no, go ahead. What about being sick?"_

"_Consider me ceasing to care until I eat more cake. This is worth it. Now, share: where'd you get it?"_

_Chloe shrugged and smiled as she finally got to take a bite of her own piece after attending to everybody else getting one and making sure the twins were still ok with Bruce. Clark watched as she sighed a little when she took her first bite and then focused on Lois again._

"_Van Der Meer's. Little place I found a few months back. It blew my mind then with awesome cake, and it continues to do so. Really came in handy while I was pregnant with the twins."_

_He watched Lois eye her a second before speaking again. "I think I'll get the address from you, cuz. This is... well, this is cake worth having again. Soon."_

_Clark was happy to hear that Lois was starting to at least think about eating something again, or at least something that wasn't plain and minimal in sustenance. She definitely had a lot more sustenance going out recently than going in. Of course, it had to be an odd situation for him to categorize cake as more than minimal in sustenance._

"_I guess if she's having seconds, I'll have some too."_

_She handed him a slice of cake and he took a bite, reveling in the taste. "You guys are going to eat all the cake, aren't you?"_

_Clark swallowed and looked at Lois, who just shrugged. "That's not exactly the plan, cuz, but if you're offering I'm not going to turn it down."_

"_I'm actually torn. On the one hand, I like that you've actually found something you can eat and not immediately throw up, if what I've been told is accurate."_

_Lois spun and glared at him. "Why are you telling her about how often I throw up?"_

"_I didn't know how sick you are was something that you wanted to keep secret."_

"_It's the principle of the thing, Smallville. You should have told me you were going to tell her so I could have told her myself!"_

"_I... what? I thought she knew it was an hourly thing these days."_

_Lois's eyes went wide for a second before she turned away from him. He was officially more confused by her actions than he ever had been before. She was obviously freaking out about something, and he didn't seem to be privy to what it was or why it had her yelling a whole bunch of nonsense. _

"_It's not important, Smallville. All the throwing up is just getting to me. It's frustrating, knowing that it has to pass at some point but not knowing when that may be. I'm ready to not be throwing up and move into a new stage, that's all."_

"_A new stage of what?"_

_Clark looked over at Chloe. "You stole my question." He then looked back to Lois. "Still going to ask, though. A new stage of what?"_

"_A... a metaphorical stage. You know, the stage of my life that comes after the bad of being sick, where we can both be happy and not annoyed that I'm throwing up all the time. Plus, I like to eat, and this is like an anti-eating thing I got going on."_

"_Why don't you just say what you really mean, cuz?"_

_Lois's head snapped up and she looked to Chloe. Clark wondered what Chloe though she really meant, because he didn't have a clue as to what a clue might be in this one._

"_You want more cake, don't you?"_

_He watched Lois visibly relax. "Yeah, more cake would be great."_

"_So, we're not going to talk about this, Lo?"_

"_Nothing to talk about, Smallville. Just, from now on, how about you leave the updates on my health to family to me, so that I can be stoic and cover up how poor I actually feel."_

"_What aren't you telling me, Lois?"_

"_That the world is a cube, not a sphere." She took another piece of cake from Chloe before looking at him again and smiling. "What would I be hiding from you, Smallville? When have I ever hid anything from you?"_

"_Whenever you think I'll disagree about you getting into a dangerous situation."_

"_Ok, besides that."_

"_When you think you're protecting me."_

"_That is for your own good, mister."_

"_So, what is it you aren't telling me? Are you planning on doing something that will get you into a dangerous situation for a story you aren't telling me about, or do you think you're protecting me from something again?"_

_Clark watched as she sighed and sat her cake down before walking over to him and hugging him. After second he wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin lightly on her head for a second. _

"_You're scaring me, Lois. You've been throwing up for three weeks now and there's something you're not telling me. I'm having some serious worst case scenarios in my head."_

_She pushed away from him a little but held his hands in hers as she looked up. "I do not have a terminal illness, Smallville." He felt her guide his hands to her stomach_ _and rested them there. "Everything is going to be fine, Clark. I promise. All those worst case scenarios? Just you worrying too much."_

_He wrapped his arms around her again, letting himself smile. "No more scaring me, all right? Just... tell me whenever you're ready to let me know." He stopped for a second, replaying the last moment in his mind. "Ya know, I think that was the first time you ever put my hands on your stomach like that. Usually you pull them to your hips."_

"_Do I? I never think about it. It's generally something I do without realizing I'm doing it."_

"_Ha!" _

_Both of them looked over to Chloe._ _"Having a 'ha' moment, Chlo?"_

"_You could say that. My 'ha' is simply the fact that I haven't heard 'ah ha' yet."_

"_Why would somebody have to say ah ha?"_

"_Any number of reasons, really. Generally, though, discoveries do the trick." _

_Clark eyed Chloe a second before following her gaze to Lois, who was just staring off into the distance with wide eyes. It didn't look like Chloe was looking at Lois's face, though. He gave up on trying to figure out what was going on and just decided to be happy that Lois hadn't retreated from his embrace yet._

_The rest of the evening passed by fairly quickly, with Lois seeming to feel better. Before he knew it, they were flying back to Metropolis and in the apartment. Clark decided to do a couple fly overs to check things before he went to sleep. _

"_Hey, I'm going to go check around the city a few times, Lo. You going to sleep?"_

_She shrugged. "Probably not. I'd probably end up tossing and turning until you got back, even with the being tired, so I'll find something else to occupy my time. Maybe watch some television."_

_He smiled and kissed her on th forehead. "All right. Guess I'll see you in a little while."_

_When Clark returned a couple hours later, he found Lois asleep, curled up in their bed. Smiling, he changed into some pajamas and crawled into bed, getting close to Lois but not disturbing her. Taking a few deep breaths, he let his eyes slide closed as he listened to her heartbeat. The steady thump lulled him into sleep._

"_Not to jinx it, but that was the best day I've had health wise in a while."_

_Clark grinned as Lois tossed her jacket onto the back of a chair as they walked into the apartment. Work had been abnormally uneventful, which had him feeling like there was something big coming along to finish the day off. The fact that Lois had only thrown up twice all day instead of twice an hour made him happy, but added to the fact that the day was off._

"_I am, of course, glad that you're feeling better today, Lo. Any chance that this is going away for good?"_

"_I have no idea. I just want to eat something filling today while I don't feel like it'll come back to haunt me."_

"_Name whatever you want."_

_She looked back at him, grinning. "Seriously? As in name anything and you'll make it or get it?"_

"_That was the implication, yes, though thinking about it I doubt this is a far departure from norm."_

_She apparently had stopped listening and was already doing some contemplative pacing."Good, good... nothing too exotic, but I don't want something plain either. Maybe something hot..." He watched as her eyes bulged and lit up even more than they had when he said anything was available tonight. "Crawfish!"_

"_Well that's certainly not exotic at all, Lo."_

"_Not really, no, and I haven't had any for ages. Jesus, when was it... I think I hit a little hole in the wall down on the gulf coast for some before I came to Smallville to investigate Chloe's fake death. Can you remember any in the years I don't have access to?"_

_Clark shook his head. "No. There were those four years I missed and some months where we weren't exactly close, as you know, but I think I can safely say you didn't have any crawfish in that time. Chloe could tell you for certain."_

"_Who cares? You're gonna love 'em, Smallville. I don't even know why they popped into my head, but I started thinking about everything that was available and focused on what I hadn't had in a while. Maybe it's a craving, who knows..."_

"_Since when do you get cravings for things like crawfish?"_

_He watched as she froze. He wondered if she was even breathing. Had there been somebody with a large block of stone around, this would have been a perfect time for a carving to be made, because Clark didn't know if he'd ever see her this still again._

"_I, uh... I didn't mean craving as in I must have it, just, you know, sounds good..."_

"_I didn't think you did. I just thought it odd that you were using the word craving. The last time you said anything about a craving was when Chloe was pregnant with the twins and just HAD to have a pizza with as many kinds of meat as possible on it during our wedding reception. I don't think you've ever referred to yourself as having them, though."_

_She spun around on her heel and stared at him for a second before throwing her hands up in the air. "How, HOW have you not figured it out yet?"_

_Clark quickly ran through a list of things in his head, but couldn't for the life of him figure our what she was referring to. "If you could actually point me in the direction of where this conversation turned, I'd be grateful, because I am currently very lost..."_

"_Throwing up all the time, my boobs are bigger, I get worn out easily and I actually said the word craving in reference to myself! Hell, I'm even peeing more! Come on, Smallville! I have literally been broadcasting this to the world! Chloe dropped about eighteen hints last night and I thought I was going to have to pull you into another room to talk to you when you figured it out!"_

"_Figured what out? You said you were sick, so I kind of took you at your word. It's a flaw, I know, but we all have our curses. And really, as far as your breasts, I haven't seen them much recently since you've been feeling bad and not really up to doing anything involving me seeing them and I don't exactly keep track of how often you go to the bathroom..."_

"_Pregnant! I am pregnant!"_

_Oh. What? Huh? He thought he was saying the words, but he didn't feel his mouth move. Well, it had moved, but that had been from shocked and open to wide and smiling._

_Apparently she took his smiling silence for shock, though, which he felt he may have been in, so she started speaking again._

"_Preggers. Expecting. Knocked up. Bun in the oven. In a family way. In a delicate condition. Baby on board. Waiting for the stork. Eating for two, though it seriously feels more like I'm throwing up for two..."_

_Clark knew he was never going to be able to shut her up to get a word in if he didn't do something, so he did the only thing he knew could stop her rambling and kissed her. Very quickly the overwhelming feeling was gone and a whole ton of happiness replaced it, and he tried to convey it through the ongoing kiss. A few minutes later, they broke apart for good. There had been a couple breaks for air, but mostly, it had just been kissing. Now he was going to try to convey his happiness through words, though he wasn't sure his tongue would work correctly._

_Before he spoke, though, the reality hit him. She was carrying a half kryptonian child. What was that going to do to her? Would she have a normal pregnancy? Was it going to be normal length? What were they going to do about a doctor?_

"_I'm sorry."_

_His eyes widened, realizing what he'd said. He was also still grinning like an idiot, so he had no idea how it had happened._

"_You're WHAT?"_

"_I have no idea what's going to happen. You could be pregnant for thirteen months for all I know. This is totally unprecedented and I don't even know whether or not you can survive this pregnancy."_

_Why was he saying this? He was giddy, for all intents and purposes, and he was telling his wife he didn't know if she was going to survive pregnancy with a stupid grin on his face! _

"_Do you think I didn't consider all that? Do you think I went into this figuring I'd have a nice, normal nine or ten months of gestation?"_

"_I didn't mean to imply that, Lo. I don't even know why I said it! I just... I wish we could have planned for it so that you weren't caught pregnant when you were so doubtful about your mothering abilities."_

"_I want this, you big dumb intergalactic traveler! Why do you think we made love without any protection back when the twins were born? I was taking a shot..." She paused a second. "Ya know, that sounds kinda dirty if you think about it as a double entendre." She waved her hands. "Not the point! Smallville, do you know what I told Chloe the night before our wedding?"_

"_I wasn't there or listening, so no."_

"_I told her I thought I was ready to have a baby. It felt... right. I don't even know why I wanted to, and I'm still not convinced that she didn't give me baby fever..."_

"_Baby fever? What?"_

"_Nevermind. Point is, I didn't know why, but having a baby with you was on my mind all the time. I couldn't get it out. Chloe think's it was because I had a sister that was trying to and did get pregnant with her second, not to mention she herself had a son and twins on the way."_

"_Well, yeah, I guess that makes sense. I wouldn't call it jealousy, but maybe you were envious of what they had, of the happiness they had in and with their children." He frowned after a second. "Ok, that is basically jealousy, but you see what I'm saying."_

"_Maybe. I still call it baby fever."_

"_Why?"_

"_Because it turns a perfectly rational and somewhat sane woman like myself into this giant, walking uterus that thinks only of having a baby. That's not me! Hell, that's not Chloe or Lucy, yet I was there for Chloe catching it and wanting to have another baby. I think she gave it to me, and then gave it to Lucy as well at the wedding. She's like a baby fever factory!"_

"_Who cares?" Clark pulled Lois into a hug, lifting her off the ground and spinning them around. "We're having a baby, Lo!"_

"_Yeah, we are, Smallville."_

_He put her down and took in a deep breath. God, he felt... alive. There was one burning question he needed to ask, though. "Just... why didn't you tell me as soon as you knew? I wouldn't have been so worried about everything if you had."_

"_I was kind of trying to wait for a few more weeks."_

"_What? Why?"_

_She sighed and slumped a little. "I wanted to wait until I hit my second trimester. That's when there's a big drop in the risk of a miscarriage, at least in normal pregnancies. If it happened, if I lost the baby, I didn't want to have gotten your hopes up only to have them crash to the ground."_

"_But... you would have suffered that pain, the heartbreak, alone. Why?"_

" _Because I would have forgotten it. I could have hidden it until I forgot again. It would have been as if the baby had never existed when my memory reset itself. It would save us both undue pain if human and kryptonian really don't mix, though I think the fact that I even conceived is a good sign. The only problem would have been if it happened again, but being me, I know that I would do the same thing."_

_She was trying to protect him. She didn't want to have him be in pain if something happened. God, they'd switched roles! She was playing the part of Superman, bearing the brunt of the pain if something happened and she was protecting him from knowing something that could hurt him._

_He pulled her into another hug, not wanting to let go. He leaned his head down so that it was next to her ear._

"_You're not going to miscarry, Lois. That's our son or daughter in there... in you. The fact that the baby exists is a testament to our love, to everything we've conquered. We do get to be happy, and we'll be happy with our little boy or girl in... when are you due?"_

"_Best I could figure was late August or early September. Like I've been saying, no doctors."_

"_Why not?"_

"_What doctor do you trust with the fact that our unborn child has some differences to his genetic code, Smallville?"_

_He laughed a second. Of course she'd thought of that. No wonder she'd been so adamant about not going to a doctor. Of course, she also knew that she wasn't really sick. _

"_Good point. One would think I'd have thought of that."_

"_One would, yes, but I forgive your lapse because you're still in a little bit of shock I bet."_

"_I think I'll refer to it as a haze of happiness." Clark groaned a second as something hit him._

"_What is it?"_

"_Jimmy figured it out before I did."_

"_What?"_

_Clark looked skyward and felt like whacking himself upside the head. "Yesterday, when you were having one of your many bouts of what I now know to be morning sickness, Jimmy stopped by while I was running interference and asked if you could be pregnant. I even entertained the thought for a second before dismissing it. He told me stranger things have happened than Lois Lane becoming a mommy."_

"_What were his examples?"_

"_He told me he was going to get back to me."_

"_Yeah, well, I'm curious to know what's stranger than me being mommy..." She froze a second and her face went from happy to a mixture of scared and angry. "Oh hell, I'm going to be mommy!"_

"_Well, yes, I thought that had been established."_

_She pushed away from him and started pacing again, this time with much more pounding to her steps. It was not dissimilar to when she had stomped around after kissing him for the first time._

"_I'm going to be somebodies mom! I'm going to be responsible for a life, making sure the baby is always fed and happy and changed and whatever else it is a baby needs!"_

"_I am going to be there to help you, Lois. This isn't going to be a one woman show."_

"_But I'm the mom! I have to be pregnant and get huge, I have to give birth... oh God, I have to go through what I saw Chloe go through... then the baby is literally going to be sucking on me for food..."_

"_Lo, calm down..."_

"_Baby fever! Baby FUCKING fever, Smallville! It makes you forget all the insane craziness about what being a mother actually entails! It's not just having sex then look, there's a baby on our bed that feeds itself and is happy! No, it's sex, then throwing up, then all sorts of discomfort, then pushing a person out of your body through a space that is NOT that big. And that's not even covering the actual baby in the world stuff!"_

_Not knowing what else to do, Clark walked over to her and kissed her again. How the hell had it deteriorated that quickly? She'd actually said out loud that she wanted this, and within minutes had broken into ranting on baby fever and it making her forget that there was a lot of work involved in gestating, birthing and raising a child. He would never cease to be amazed at what her mind was capable of._

_After another couple minutes of his best kissing efforts, he pulled away from her and both were sucking air. Lois was first to speak._

"_Wow. And thanks, I needed that. Was losing my mind for a second, wasn't I?"_

"_Just a little bit. Glad to help, though. Service is free of charge and available at all hours, should you feel yourself losing you mind again."_

_She grinned and closed the distance again. "Thank you, dad."_

_Clark smiled. "Huh. I'm going to be a dad." His eyes widened. "Oh God, I'm gonna be a dad..." Before he could get any of his thoughts on the subject out, she pulled him down and they were kissing again. A moment later, he was catching his breath again._

"_Thanks."_

"_No need. My services are free of charge at all hours." She was giving him a lascivious grin and started plucking at his shirt. "Speaking of services, I know we haven't eaten anything, but I am seriously not hungry for food at the moment."_

"_Well, your wish is my command. Anything you want from now on... within reason."_

"_And this is different than usual how?"_

_He grinned and kissed her slowly, easing a hand down to rest on her stomach as he pulled away and looked down at it and back up into her eyes. "Because now it's for our baby, too."_

_- - -_

"You really couldn't tell that I was pregnant, Smallville?"

"Didn't have a clue. Like I said back then, I took you at your word that you were sick. I had no reason to believe that you could be pregnant. The night the twins were born completely slipped my mind. I guess when it comes to women, and more specifically my wife, I am quite typical."

Lois rolled her eyes before standing up off the couch and walking into the kitchen. Once dinner had finished they'd all moved into the living room, Jordan grabbing a coloring book and asking them to color with her while Clark related the story. Jordan had called them on being distracted from their pictures a few times before she apparently gave up and concentrated on her own.

Grabbing a glass of water and a celery stick from the fridge to munch on, Lois walked back out to her family in the living room.

Wow. She had a family. She had what she'd always wanted but had never dared to dream for.

Lois had thought about it before, but she'd never really realized... this was her family. These were her loved ones, the people she would be closest to for the rest of her life. Jesus, she'd been in love for two, maybe three weeks and she already had a family. It did kind of suit her, though. For better or for worse, she didn't remember all the effort put into becoming a family, but she loved it.

She loved her husband, she loved her daughter and she loved her unborn son. That's what it all came down to. As long as she had their love and they hers, nothing could ruin it, not even her mental malady.


	49. Chapter 49

---- Chapter 49

Lois grabbed a box out of the back of the moving truck, hoisted it up so it wasn't resting on her AJ containing bump, then walked up the path and into the now quite large house. She could tell where the additions had been made, but it took some close inspection originally to figure it out. The renovation company that they had hired were apparently very good.

She got inside and dropped the box down on the floor with the other boxes that had 'linens' written on them. She looked over at Chloe, who was coming downstairs from doing something.

"Here's a silly question, Chloe: where are your moving people? I mean, yes, I know you have Bruce and Clark, but they seem oddly absent."

"They just walked down to the corner store to get some water, I think, or are taking a smoke break somewhere. Truth be told, I didn't even really want moving guys but Bruce insisted. Something about straining myself."

"Why would you possibly want to do this yourself?"

"Because it's my first new house. When I got married, I just moved into the manor. Everything was already furnished and looked good. I put up a few things on the walls to give some life to the rooms, but it wasn't ever really a home. This... this place is ours. It's just for Bruce, myself, the kids and any future generation that may come along. It's not something that is going to stand as a testament to a great family. This is a home."

When she put it that way, Lois figured she understood. Hell, she sounded a lot like Clark did when he talked about moving into their place down the street. Now that she thought about it, it didn't really seem as silly as she thought it had when they'd talked about it. It was going to be where she brought up her family. It was going to be the house her kids called home, the place they told their own kids about once they had families of their own.

She'd never really had that as a kid. Once her mom had died, it had just been her and her dad for the most part, on the move from base to base. Not until she moved in with the Kent's on the farm had she had a stable place that she knew would be there for her the next day. Why had she been so blasé about moving? This was huge!

"Good lord, Chloe... it hadn't hit me until now just how big moving into a house can be. I didn't even think about why Clark had wanted to make a big thing of the packing and unpacking. I never had a place to call home as a kid, so I didn't realize why it was a big deal to him..."

She trailed off and found a chair to sit in. Everything meant so much more to her when she thought about it now. She knew why she'd never allowed herself to think about it before. It represented everything she'd never had and probably would never have. Why think about what isn't available to you?

She felt Chloe sit down next to her. "You're going to be happy, Lois."

"I already am, Chloe. I think I'm just starting to realize what being happy entails."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that this is everything that haunted my dreams, everything I was afraid to want. A husband that loves me, kids that I'm not screwing up royally and a nice place to raise them, though I never thought I'd be a suburbanite. It was always a big penthouse downtown... but ya know, this is perfect. We have yards for the children to play in and my cousin is four doors down the street."

Chloe leaned into her, resting her head on her shoulder. Lois let her head lean over and rest on Chloe's. "We're living in a dream, aren't we Chlo?"

"I think in a dream I'd be as sure this little one is a boy as you are Almond Joy is, pregnancy wouldn't be nearly so ridiculous and birth would be a painless event where I didn't have myself on display for six people, even if by the time that's happening I don't really care anymore."

"You really don't care?"

"Too focused on getting through it. All my concentration is on getting through the pain, and by that point I'm quite literally on display, but I can't take the time to think about it. My baby is almost there and I just want it done, so they can look all they want as long as it ends with me holding my baby."

Lois sighed. "Even if I did have an unintended home birth in my bathtub of all places, I really wish I could remember Jordan being born."

"I know. I can't imagine what it would be like to not remember the birth of my children."

"Even if you could forget how much it hurt?"

Chloe lifted her head up, forcing Lois to do the same. She watched as her cousin sat up and looked a little bit confused. "It wouldn't be worth it, but to be truthful, I don't really remember how much it hurts... just that it hurts."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I think it's a hormonal thing, or a blissful haze when I get to hold my baby for the first time... either way, it's fuzzy. I do know that I'm lucky in that respect, though, because I worked with a woman at the Gazette for a couple years that had a baby and she swore she would never forget how much it hurt and that one was her limit because of the pain.

"She was not at her happiest when she announced she was pregnant for a second time for just that reason. I think she was happy about the baby, just dreading the labor and delivery. Pretty sure she said something about a c-section, though."

"Yeesh. Well, despite that, I'm sure she was happy when she had the baby."

"I assume so, but I lost touch with her halfway through it. She took a job with an online publication a couple months later so she could work at home and be with her kids."

"Huh. Kind of admirable, really, doing that for her kids. Gazette is a good paper and a tough place to give up, especially since I worked there."

Lois grinned as Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yeah, that's what made it good. It certainly wasn't all the years I put in there."

"Obviously." She looked around a moment and her grin slowly turned into a curious frown. "Where have our husbands and children run off to?"

"I can't speak for our husbands or Jack, but all the younger kids are doing their nap thing in the twins room."

"Well then somebody ought to speak for them, and I figure they want to do that for themselves."

"What do they have to speak for?"

"Nothing, really. Not sure why I said it that way."

Lois shrugged and got up, walking through the mess to the backdoor, looking out into the backyard. She spotted the guys all out throwing a baseball around. It was unseasonably warm, so Jack wasn't bundled up and it worked pretty well.

"And there they are, being extremely useful to the moving effort."

She saw Chloe join her out of the corner of her eye and after another second of them playing catch looked over to her cousin. "We have two of the most powerful men in the world here, one of which is actually THE most powerful man in the world, and instead of getting everything moved into the house quickly they're out playing catch."

"To be fair, my son is all sorts of good at convincing people to do what he wants. As much as Bruce denies it, Jack has him wrapped around his finger and he pretty much acquiesces to any request that involves throwing a ball of some sort. Kicking them, too. I think it's a father and son thing."

"Yeah, well, he is Bruce's son, so I understand his lack of saying no to him. But Clark... well, he's just a pushover when it comes to kids."

"He's strict when he needs to be. That isn't often, though, since you've raised a well behaved daughter." Chloe's eyes lit up as she grinned. "How long do you expect that to last?"

Lois sighed. "About as long as it takes for the Clark in her to get overwhelmed by my liberal interpretation of following the rules. Pretty sure it's a genetic trait."

"Eh, I blame it on your dad being so strict."

"From what I can actually remember about my mom, I do know that I have her eyes. I was five, and I remember her and daddy talking once while I was doing something nearby... can't remember what it was anymore. Anyway, after they discussed, she came and picked me up and had a mischievous glint in her eye that I am very familiar with. It's one of my most vivid memories of her."

Lois walked back to her chair and sat down again, Chloe joining her a second later. "I don't really remember aunt Ellen much. I remember some basic stuff, like the fact that she was a lot of fun to be around when I was little, but that's about it."

"I'm just glad to remember her at all. I consider myself extremely lucky in that regard." Looking around at the room, Lois decided that she'd had enough of the memory lane talk. Standing up again, she walked over to the backdoor and this time opened it, walking out into the grass. "Hey, men folk... how about we get this move done today?"

Three heads turned to look at her. Jack spoke first. "You wanna play catch, aunt Lo?"

She smiled at Jack, then looked up at Clark and Bruce. "I do, Jack. In fact, why don't you and I play catch while your father and uncle bring in some of the bigger boxes."

"Don't they have movers for that, Lo?"

She looked at him, tilting her head a little. "I find it strange that, considering who they have at their disposal for moving, that they did hire movers. We're not hiring movers, are we?"

"Well, no..."

"Then consider this good practice, husband of mine. Oh, and I thought about what you said about packing, and I think I'd like to do it your way instead of mine."

She watched his eyebrows rise up his forehead. "Really?"

"Yeah. We're making a home together, so I figure we should do it right. We'll pack slowly, move and unpack slowly. Well, some of the unpacking will be slow. What I don't want to deal with will be quick. Now, off you go!"

She swatted him on the butt as he walked by, grinning when he smiled at her then shaking her hand a little bit and flexing her fingers. She had to remember that his buns were closer to literal steel rather than the figurative. When Jack walked up to her, she smiled and took the glove he handed her, slipping it on.

"How's your fastball, Jackie boy?"

"Really good! Dad showed me how to hold the ball best for a good fastball, and now when I play in the spring I'll be the best pitcher in Metropolis!"

Lois just shook her head at his enthusiasm. It was as if she were watching a young Chloe talk about investigating things. The way he spoke, the way his eyes lit up, even the way he moved was all her. If it weren't just as cute on him as it was on her, she might have been a little spooked.

They played catch for about ten minutes before Jack wanted to get something to drink. They went back inside and found that the movers had returned with Clark and Bruce busy at it as well. Jack went to grab a bottle of water while Lois walked up to Clark, who was lugging in a television.

"You look good carrying things, Smallville. Despite your obvious lack of effort, which you should really amend in front of the movers, it makes your muscles all flexy and sexy."

He sat the television down in a corner and looked at her. "Flexy?"

"What can I say, I like the letter Y on the end of words where it doesn't belong... Clarky."

"Clarkie is spelled with an I and an E at the end."

"You've actually thought about this?"

"Yes, I have. These are the kinds of things I have to think about to be able to have conversations with you at times. You tend to bring up very random subjects."

She shrugged and nodded. "This is true. Our current conversation is a fairly good example."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and started guiding her out of the house. She frowned when they ended up at the truck, not really wanting to move more stuff. She looked up at him and smiled softly, doing her best to bat her eyelashes.

"While I'm not immune to that look, you get to help as well, wife of mine."

"Phrase stealer."

"Be that as it may, the more you help bring in the boxes that don't weigh a whole bunch, the faster we get this done."

"I'm really thinking of falling back on your argument about movers, Smallville."

"They're doing beds, dressers, couches and entertainment centers. The biggest stuff, basically. We're here to help with everything else."

Lois sighed, determined not to do more moving. Why hadn't she made Chloe feed them before the moving? "Come on... can't you just, you know..." She moved her hand back and forth quickly to signify him moving really quickly. "It would have all this done in a snap."

"Yes, and my identity would be out in a snap, too. Well, it would be unless the dozen or so houses within easy seeing distance happened to all not be looking."

"Hey, only eleven need to not be looking since the one is ours and currently vacant..." She trailed off and frowned before hugging herself to him. "Oddly enough, I'd forgotten how much I hate moving. I remembered it was... blech, for lack of a better term, but I didn't remember that it annoyed me so much."

"Something that annoys you. What _is_ the world coming to?"

She rolled her eyes, then smiled when AJ did his kicking thing. She grabbed his hand and placed it on her stomach where he was doing his thing. When he kicked again, she looked up at him. "Anything?"

"Nope, not yet."

"You're killing me, Smalls."

He pulled her hand up to his mouth and kissed the back of it. "Ya know, I don't think you've ever actually called me Smalls before."

"Really? But, it's such an obvious joke... I mean, I loved The Sandlot as a kid."

"Didn't everybody?"

"Hell, I'm not going to complain. I didn't think I'd be doing anything original at this point."

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, with moving getting done in a reasonable amount of time. The movers hadn't taken too long to get all the big stuff moved in and once that had been done, everything seemed to zoom along. All boxes were now inside and in the process of being unpacked, and the movers had been paid and gone on their way.

Lois was laying down on a couch, looking up at the ceiling when her stomach grumbled. She looked over to her cousin, who was sitting on the floor and pulling things out of a box with the twins.

"Not to sound impatient, which I am, but when's the food getting here?"

"Soon, Lois. It's good to be patient, right Liz?"

"Right, mommy. Patience is a ver... versnew?"

"Close, hun. Patience is a virtue."

Lois smiled and rolled over onto her side, watching Chloe and the girls. "Say, why didn't you ask your other daughter about patience? I'm sure she has a view on it."

"She does, and that view is that there's no place in the world for it. As I predicted soon after they were born, Aly is very much like her mother and Liz is very much like her father."

"When's the food getting here, mommy?"

"It'll be here soon, Aly. Weren't you listening?"

Aly shook her head, throwing dirty blond locks into and out of her face. "I was busy, but now I'm hungry."

"A child after my own heart, that one is. Come on over and sit with your aunt Lo, Aly." She watched as Aly stood up and ran over to her, climbing up on the couch and laying down with her. Lois pulled her up a little higher and whispered in her ear. "Wanna hear something about your mom?"

"Yeah!"

"Lois..."

"It's nothing extravagant, Chloe. Those stories are saved for when these girls hit their teens and hear what you were like at that age." Off of Chloe's groan, Lois smiled and looked down at Aly again. "You really are a lot like her. Maybe not as much as your brother is, but it's still a lot."

"How?"

"Well, when your mom was four she was an inquisitive little thing. She always wanted to know why things worked, and when she found that out she wanted to know why the things that made things work worked. She never had patience about it, though. She wanted answers right then and there, and if she didn't get them, watch out world because Chloe Sullivan was coming for the answers.

"She's still like that. She's not as intense about it as she was when she was younger, but she's still got the fire. And you have that fire, too."

Aly craned her neck and looked up at her. "But, fire's dangerous."

"Well, it can be, yes, but this is a different kind of fire. When I say you have the fire, I mean you have the desire to want to find things out. You have the will to get to the truth and the strength to know what the truth means. It's an important thing to have, Aly, because it can help you become an amazing person, and I know that you're going to be amazing when you grow up. Heck, you're already amazing in my book."

"What about me? Do I have the fire?"

Lois looked over at Liz and smiled. She thought that the little girl looked so hopeful that she was going to hear the same thing Aly had. "You, Liz, have the fire, but it's a different kind of fire."

"What kind is it?"

Lois opened her mouth to speak, not knowing exactly what to say, but was interrupted by Clark walking into the room and speaking for her.

"You, Liz, have the fire to help people. It's a lot like your dad, really, with little bits of your mom thrown in. See, your mom uses her job as a journalist to expose the truth of what bad people do so that the good people can fix it. Your dad is somebody that likes to help people by making sure they have enough food, or are able to live in a house when they don't have enough money to pay for one. He uses his job to help the good people that get hurt by the bad people your mom brings to justice."

"So I'm more like daddy?"

"You bet, Liz. Not a bad person to take after."

Lois smiled as Liz go up and hugged him. That was way better than anything she could have thought to say about her being like Bruce. Making her voice as quiet as she could, Lois spoke so only Clark could hear her. "Thanks for the save, Smallville."

She looked over at him and he winked at her.

"We come bearing food."

Lois would have shot up and run to Bruce had she not been curled up with Aly. As it was, she slowly untangled herself from her niece and got up in a relatively calm manor, making her way out to Bruce and the assortment of food that he and Jack had brought in. Jesus, they'd gotten a little bit of everything!

Lois was about to tear into everything when she saw Jordan and the rest of the children walk into the kitchen. Rolling her eyes at her own eagerness, she handed her plate to Jordan then lifted her up to show off all the food on the counter to her.

"What looks good, baby girl?"

"Pizza!"

Less than shocked, Lois walked over to the couple boxes of pizza and pulled a couple slices of cheese out for Jordan and placed them on her plate. "Anything else?"

"No, thank you."

Lois put Jordan back down and helped Aly and Liz with their food too, giving each what she wanted and letting Jack grab his own stuff before she could finally get at the fare. Fortunately, there was still plenty left for her to have a nice selection. She grabbed a slice of pizza, a couple spoonfuls of Spanish rice and some fajita chicken, some grapes and a glass of water.

She grinned as she walked to the dining room table, which they'd already gotten all set up for this very occasion. Setting her plate down as she looked for a chair, she pulled one around and sat down, flanked on one side by Jordan and the other by Jack. The kids all seemed intent on eating in silence for the time being, so Lois wasn't going to interrupt them. Meant she got to eat without interruption for a few minutes as well.

They were soon joined by all the other adults, which prompted Lois to stand up for a second. She held up her glass of water, watching as everybody held up their respective drinks as well, even Jordan. "To family: we're close by now, so let's take advantage of it and always be there for each other."

After a clinking of glasses and drinks all around, Lois sat down and started eating again. They all sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, taking in the good food before Chloe spoke.

"So, you guys are moving in three weeks, right?"

Lois looked over at Chloe and nodded, her mouth full of food. Clark actually used words to answer. "Three weeks and a day. We're not going to be all fancy like you guys with your movers, but we will be enlisting your help and offering food as compensation as you have."

"We'd help even if you weren't providing food. We're nice like that."

"And we appreciate it."

Clark took a bite of food, so Lois took advantage of the silence and decided to ask a question of her own. "So, you and the kids are going to be here most of the time, right Chloe?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"How often are you guys going to get to see Bruce?"

"Well, the plan is for the kids and I to spend weekends in Gotham until my due date gets closer. Once I get to around eight months, Bruce is going to be here more often than not on all days, not just weekends. If he's needed in Gotham right away, he has his jet to get him there."

"Guess you guys have done some thinking about this."

"Wouldn't be here if we hadn't. This was by no means a light undertaking. I have a new job, which is actually an old job I gave up. Jack is enrolled in a new school, much to his chagrin. But, when Bruce brought it up, I thought that this is what would be best for my family. I thought that it gave my kids the best chance to grow up with a normal life, not some fish bowl existence in Gotham. I didn't want my children growing up in an area where they'd be lauded as the next generation and have their every move followed for years to come."

Lois spotted Jack walking back from the kitchen, sitting down as his mom finished his statement. "It wasn't that bad, mom. I could handle it."

"I know you could, but I don't want you to _have_ to handle it. In Gotham, you're seen as a prince of sorts, and as such they keep cameras on you all the time. In Metropolis, you're still Jack Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne, but it's not nearly as big of a deal. You can go about your life, not having to be sequestered from a normal childhood, whatever that is these days."

"Normal is boring."

Chloe raised an eyebrow at her son as she took a bite. "Care to explain?"

"Everybody wants to be normal. If everybody is normal, then what's the use of being me? I would just be the same as everybody else, because we'd all be normal."

Wow. Lois thought that was an extremely impressive argument for a seven year old. She hoped Jordan would be able to make arguments like that at seven. She glanced over at Chloe, who was just watching her son eat.

"You're not supposed to be smarter than I am yet, Jack." Chloe looked over at Bruce. "This is all your fault."

"If I am to assume responsibility for the intelligence of our son, I gladly do so. It's also fairly strange, considering just how much like you he is."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't make arguments like that at seven. I have a feeling one of us has been teaching him logic and reasonable thinking, and I'm certainly not one to do that." Lois watched her frown at her own words. "I think I worded that poorly."

"You really did, Chlo, but I would have said the same thing to Clark."

"The point of this is, I want you, Jack, and you, girls, as well as the little one in me right now, to be able to grow up without all the pressures of being a Wayne growing up in Gotham would entail. I want you to be able to grow up like I did, except without the small town and excessive crazy that went on there."

"What was Smallville like, mommy?"

Lois looked over at Aly, whose eyes seemed to have lit up at the prospect of hearing stories about a town full of people with strange powers and the lack of mental faculties to handle them.

"Smallville is something you all get to learn about when you're older, and not a moment sooner."

"What about me, mommy?"

Lois looked down at Jordan and ran a hand through her hair before giving her a couple pats on the back. "That's something you get to hear about when you're old enough to... date." She turned to Clark. "How old do you think she'll be when we allow her to date?"

"Not while she lives at home."

She rolled her eyes at him and turned back to Jordan. "That's not true, but when you're old enough to date, we'll tell you about Smallville. That way, you can learn from your aunt Chloe's mistakes."

"My mistakes? I barely dated anybody through high school because I was so wrapped up in the Torch and... other things. I mean, who here dated an invisible hitman?"

"Oh, yeah. Okay, your aunt's mistake of not having a social life and my mistake of having one with the wrong people." Chloe snorted at her statement, but Lois stuck by it. Jordan seemed to have lost interest and was concentrating on her food again.

"So, Smallville, when did you start going out on dates?"

"At just the right age. I remember the story of your first date, and your age at the time, and it makes me a little nervous. Considering our true first date..."

"How about we don't hold my, or more accurate our, less than stellar history against our daughter, Smallville? She can learn from the colorful experiences."

"That's kind of what frightens me. Knowing how much like you she is, she may determine that she likes the adventurous life you live and lived and try it out for herself. Nothing's certain, of course, but women in your family, at least your generation of them, seem to have a knack for trouble that I dearly hope is not genetic."

"She does have some advantages Lois didn't, Clark." Lois looked over at Chloe, grinning at her cousin coming to the rescue. "Who knows what she may have inherited and what may develop? Only time will tell how things turn out, and so you need to keep an open mind. Bruce is, right honey?"

"Right. In my open mind Aly and Liz aren't dating until they've mastered two forms of martial arts. It's open in the fact that they're allowed to master many more, should they like to."

"Very open minded, Bruce. Completely reasonable, too."

Lois looked over at Clark and whacked him on the shoulder. "You just keep living in your dream world, Smallville."

"I plan on it."

"May I live there too, daddy?"

"You always will, sweetheart."


	50. Chapter 50

---- Chapter 50

Lois smiled at Terri as she walked away, giving a little wave before rolling her eyes and turning around, walking to her office, where she found Clark and Chloe.

"When did my stomach become community property?"

"About the same time mine did, cuz. Why do you ask?"

"Because as much as I appreciate the well wishes, I prefer not to get my mid-section rubbed every time they're given. What am I, a Buddha statue? A little personal space is never a bad thing."

"You're growing a life inside you, Lois. In a sense, it kind of makes you a part of something bigger than just being an individual. It's something that people want to feel like they're a part of, even if it's only relaying a smile and placing a hand on your stomach, feeling the growing life." Chloe scowled and looked over at Clark. "I think your cheesiness has rubbed off on me. That's not my usual brand of wordy."

"Uh... sorry?"

Chloe then looked down at her stomach. "If it's you making me all cheesy sounding, we're going to have some words about what you're doing to mommy later."

Lois walked over and sat down behind her desk, frowning at anything that came into her sight. "I appreciate that people see me as part of something bigger, but I'm pregnant, not wielding magical powers of healing... ok, not for other people, anyway."

She looked up and watched as Clark stood and walked around to her, leaning on her desk in front of her. "If it helps, a few weeks after you lost your memory last time, you got used to the touching and actually kind of embraced it. You weren't afraid to tell people to not touch the bump, though, when you were in a less than happy mood."

"What about before I forgot?"

He shrugged. "Weren't really showing long enough to get used to it."

"Yeah, well, so far I'm not finding the happiness this time either. I just don't get it. I never felt the need to touch other women's stomachs when they were pregnant!"

"You're far from the norm, Lo."

She couldn't say much to contradict that without just sounding difficult and ornery. Being an ornery pregnant woman sounded like fun, but she didn't know how long it would last. She always ended up feeling happy lately. Lois turned to Chloe. "What about you? Do you enjoy the hand to stomach part of pregnancy?"

"Actually, I do. It's a pretty special experience for me, and if people want to share in my happiness, I let them. Of course, having done this twice before, I had the chance to get used to it. With Jack, I was as perturbed by it as you are throughout my showing months."

"Well, at least I know I'm not annoyed just because I'm me."

"No, it's actually a very common thing. Some women enjoy it, some don't. I don't think it's a big deal to people to ask that they not come up and touch you. I doubt you'd have any problems doing so, what with being you and all."

"Very true. I just about did it with Terri, but held back because she at least had the courtesy to ask." She looked up at Clark when he made a sound. "Yes?"

"She asked, you said yes... yet this has you annoyed?"

"Hey..." She paused, trying to think of something to say, but came up with nothing. She closed her mouth a second before sighing. "All right, so I may be having an irrational moment, but all people should ask before touching, not just Terri! At least then I have the option of saying no."

"I think you just needed to rant since you hadn't done so in a few days. I doubt this whole 'community property' issue would have come up otherwise."

"That very well may be, Smallville, but it did." She raised a hand, holding up one finger. "New rule for those wanting to touch my stomach: ask, or get your hand whacked."

Clark reached down and placed a hand on her stomach, running it across the bump slowly. She looked at him a second before grabbing her stapler and hitting his hand with it to save her own hand some pain. When she looked up at him, he was looking down at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"Don't look at me like that! You didn't follow the new rule!"

He laughed, causing her to grin against her will. His laugh was freaking infectious. "I'm the father! One would think I should have unrestricted access, or am I going to have to ask when you want me to feel Almond Joy kick?"

"Oh, fine, but only because I love you. Otherwise you would be outta luck."

"I knew there was some personal gain in having your love." He leaned down and kissed her, making her smile as he did so. For as long as she got to remember all this, that would never get old in her book. He pulled away from her, grinning as well.

"All right, so, slow news day and me being irrational means I want some storytelling."

"What about the Chief?"

Lois waved a hand at Clark. "If he needs us, he'll bellow." She looked around him at Chloe. "What do you say?"

"I say yes, but then again I don't get to tell anything this time around. This one was all you guys right here in Metropolis."

"What story is this?"

"The third time you forgot."

Lois frowned. She was hoping for something upbeat and lighthearted, but then again that did seem to be rare in her life. She was going to have to have to talk to Clark about remembering some good, lighthearted stories for when she next forgot, because she kept hearing serious ones. Well, kind of... she didn't know if she considered Chloe's twins being born lighthearted or not. Seeing as how Jordan was conceived that night, it certainly didn't end in a lighthearted way. And wow was she thinking the word lighthearted a lot. She shook her head and looked up at Clark.

"Ok, let's hear it Smallville. We talking long or short story here?"

He thought a moment before speaking. "Don't know, really. This is the first time I've had to tell the story in full, because you lived it last time. I only had to tell the night before part when you woke up."

"Ooh, uncharted territory. Wow me with untold stories, Smallville."

"I'll do my best. It was March 15th, 2018 when you forgot. We'll start the day before, like I said."

---

"_These pants aren't nearly as comfortable as my regular pants."_

_Clark looked over at Lois out of the corner of his eye as he tightened up his tie, watching as she looked down at herself and messed with her maternity pants. When those had become necessary, she had decided that it was all his fault. A week later, with her looking further along in the pregnancy than she was, she had backed off from that claim and decided to focus on complaining about the clothes._

"_I'm sure you can find maternity pants just as comfortable as your regular pants, Lo. Chloe never complained about hers in either pregnancy, that I recall."_

"_She didn't complain to you, but I bet she did to Bruce and I."_

"_That very well may be, but when was the last time Chloe decided to hide any of her discomfort from either of us? You being in the room when the twins were born pretty much cements the fact that she won't hide anything from you, and I generally get included in that."_

_She looked over at him and frowned. Clark just smiled in return. "Your logic has no place in this conversation, Smallville."_

"_I'm very sorry. The point of me bringing up Chloe, though, is the fact that maybe you two could go shopping and you could find pregnancy pants that you find to be as comfortable as your regular pants. Be a good activity this weekend."_

"_Better idea: how about you and I go, we sneak into a dressing room and we show the walls just how sexy pregnancy can be."_

_Clark grinned, unable to hold it back. Not long after she had started showing she had become extremely affectionate, and he was certainly not going to complain about it. He also wasn't going to make love to her in a dressing room, but it was the thought that counted in his book._

"_Seeing as how we already... christened a dressing room when we were newlyweds, which I still can't believe you talked me into, I think I'll settle for showing all the walls in our apartment just how sexy my pregnant wife is. In the meantime, though, we should get going."_

"_You are the only man I know that turns down sex."_

"_Were you offering for right here and now? Since it's you, Chief will accept some lateness."_

"_I am always talking about the now, Smallville." She turned to him and unbuttoned her pants, letting them drop to the floor. "That is much more comfortable."_

_A couple hours later they walked into the bullpen and straight to their desks. He looked up at her over his glasses as he sat down, finding a mischievous grin coming his way. He simply smiled back and attempted to get to work._

"_Lois! Clark! Where have you two been?"_

_Lois was first to answer. "I thought I told you we had a meeting with a source first thing today, Chief? I know I meant to... I guess it must have just slipped my mind." She waved at her head a second. "Guess the baby has me a little off these days."_

_Man, she was a good liar. Was it bad that she was using the baby as an excuse?_

"_Alright Lois, just try to keep me in the loop from now on. I tell ya, when Alice was pregnant she forgot everything and then some, so I understand. How about Clark delivers all the messages from now on, though?"_

"_You got it. Smallville is the messenger boy from now."_

_Clark grimaced and let his head thump down lightly on his desk. He could tell just from the way she had said it that he had a new nickname, at least in the short term. He lifted his head up and spotted Perry walking away, then looked over at Lois, who was grinning at him._

"_Let me guess..."_

"_It occurs to me, Messenger Boy, that I could use a snack. Would you mind running to the snack machine for me and getting a couple things made almost entirely of chocolate?"_

_Sighing, Clark stood up and walked across the room, finding himself in front of the snack machines a minute later. She seemed to come up with more temporary nicknames for him these days than she knew what to do with. It had started when she had started to show. It was like something had clicked in her brain that she was really pregnant, that she was really going to have to go through everything she knew was coming and in clothes she didn't think looked very good or comfortable._

_First, it was 'Guy Who Did The Impregnating,' which was promptly followed by 'Cause Of All This' and 'Semen Producer.' He didn't even know how or why she'd thought of the last one, and it had only lasted a few hours. He figured she'd realized that it didn't sound as ridiculous aimed at him as it felt to be saying it. Hopefully she wouldn't grow too fond of 'Messenger Boy' but it seemed like one that could stick._

_His eyes scanned across the various selections available to him as he tried to find things made up almost entirely of chocolate. Trips to the snack machine were almost an hourly occurrence before lunch these days. When the... the growth spurt, for lack fo a better term, had hit her stomach, food had become something she devoured in a more ravenous manner than usual._

_It had started not long after the morning sickness had let up. He'd made dinner one night and she'd been feeling good, so when she asked for a second helping he hadn't thought anything about it. Lois asking for a second helping of Italian food was more or less the norm. Of course, when she asked for a third and a fourth helping he'd been curious. He went back for a little bit more for himself and found that they had eaten almost all of it._

_Then the snacking binge hit. A few days after the Italian food gorging and subsequent meals taking on much grander proportions, he'd found that whenever he saw her, she had a snack of some kind in hand. Lois didn't even seem to realize she was doing it. First it was fruit, then she downed a bag of chips, then she ate a big lunch followed not long after by downing the better part of a bowl of grapes._

_He had asked her about how much she'd eaten that day when getting ready for bed. When she said she didn't think it was any more than she'd been eating the last few days, he had run down the list. She'd thought about it for a second, grumbled something about losing control of her own body and then turned on him, starting her 'Guy Who Did The Impregnating' nickname and pointing out that she was carrying his child and he didn't get to point out the crazy stuff unless she started eating dirt or something._

_What had started out as him doing his best to ask an innocent question about how much food intake she'd had that day had turned into a long rant, once again, on everything she had to go through to bring their child into the world. When he'd attempted to back off, the rant had happened once more, just to make sure he remembered that she had a life inside her, that she had to gain a bunch of weight and get all kinds of uncomfortable, not to mention what pushing a baby out was going to do to her... down there. _

_That had not been a pleasant conversation._

_Shuddering himself out of the memory, Clark slid a dollar into the snack machine and chose a Three Musketeers candy bar as the first item of chocolate for his wife. _

_Chocolate seemed to have taken on new meaning to her lately. It didn't seem to be a craving so much as the comfort food of choice. He really wished he'd never noticed, because apparently making the off handed comment on such things warranted another spiel, which had led to the unfortunate 'Semen Producer' happenings. _

_And out of that spiel had come the oddest rant he'd ever heard her make. When using the word burgeoning to describe her stomach, thighs and backside, she'd stopped for a second and gone on a whole separate tangent on how burgeoning held too much of a positive ring to it. According to her, it made her sound like she liked the fact that 'her thighs were exploding and her ass was already puffing out like each cheek had been stung by a ginormous bee.' _

_He'd ventured into the madness about how he liked the way she looked. Huge mistake._

_That had earned an entire addressing of an issue he didn't actually think was an issue. This had been before she had decided that every move he made was a turn on, not that he was complaining, and led to her revealing that she had liked the way her boobs, thighs and ass had looked before she was pregnant. She knew that her boobs had to get bigger so that the baby could eat, but she didn't feel that the thighs or ass needed to change, no matter if it had been the same for women throughout time. _

_Lois had then said she wouldn't mind all the extra meat as much if it didn't hold stretch marks and droopiness in the time after the baby was born. The prospect of one, the other or both seemed to throw her into dismay and kill her ranting mood and put her into an annoyed mood, which was really not all that different. _

_He'd done his best to comfort her, pointing out that perhaps the Kryptonian healing would keep her from stretching and droopiness, which had perked her up considerably. He didn't know if she believed it, but the prospect made her hopeful, at least._

_Once more, Clark slid a dollar into the snack machine and picked out some chocolate chocolate chip cookies. Picking those and the candy bar out of the bottom of the machine, he made his way over to their desks again, finding Lois with an unsharpened pencil clenched between her teeth. It was, in her words, a thinking pencil. Without it, her articles would only be half as good. She hadn't bothered to explain why._

_Clark dropped the cookies on the table and her eyes lit up. She grabbed the pack and tore it open, taking a bite of one of the cookies. She then spotted the candy bar still in his hand and looked up at him. _

"_Holding out on me?"_

"_Let's call this a bargaining tool. I will give you this," he said as he held up the candy bar, "in exchange for no more calling me Messenger Boy."_

_She raised an eyebrow, but looked back down at the candy bar longingly. How she did so while she was starting on a second cookie, he would never understand. She then made a pouty face he was seeing all too often these days. "But... the baby wants it, Smallville."_

"_That's low, Lo."_

"_Yeah, well, all's fair in love, war and pregnancy." She swallowed the last bit of cookie and sighed. "Fine, no more calling you Messenger Boy in exchange for that candy bar in your hand. You do know this does not apply to other nicknames since you only brought me the one, right?"_

"_I figured as much." He tossed the candy bar over to her and watched as she actually hugged it to her chest a second before starting in on it._

"_Lois! Clark!"_

_They both looked over at Perry, who was walking towards them. "You guys need to head over to LexCorp. They've called a press conference about some joint business with the city, starts in fifteen minutes."_

"_On it, Chief."_

_Clark helped Lois up as she shoved the rest of her candy bar into her mouth, chewing it and sliding her jacket on as they walked to the elevator. He eyed her chewing as they stepped into the old thing and waited for the doors to close. When they started down alone, he shook his head._

"_I could have held it for you. I wouldn't have stolen a bite."_

_She glared at him a second before swallowing and chewing. "Gimme a break. If I'm getting fat, I'm doing it right."_

"_You are not getting fat, Lois, you're pregnant. I mean, depending on how big the baby is you'll lose anywhere from six to ten pounds of the weight once labor is done, plus a little more with the placenta. I doubt blood loss will actually make a big difference, but the extra you're producing right now does account for some of the weight gain."_

_The elevator door opened and they walked out. Lexcorp wasn't far so they decided to walk to the press conference. They'd be there in plenty of time. Once they were on the sidewalk, Lois started speaking._

"_First off, if we have a ten pound baby, I am going to find a way to hurt you. Lucy and I were both around seven pounds, if I recall, so ten would be all your fault. Secondly, blood loss? Yeesh. Come on, Smallville. I know you're all into the books and reading part of not quite being a dad yet, but you don't have to get all scientific and bloody on me."_

"_I'm not getting scientific, I'm just telling you what is going to happen if you have a regular birth."_

"_And what do you think the chances of that are? My pregnancy is not what most would call regular."_

"_I have no idea, Lo, but it helps to be prepared."_

"_I plan on being prepared, Smallville, but I'm fifteen weeks pregnant. I have actually seen a birth in person, though, so I have some idea of what happens. And you know what? It's not pretty, but it gets the baby here, and that's what counts. Really, when have you seen me unprepared anyway?"_

_Clark did his best to hold back from scoffing at her statement. "Lois, you've gone into so many situations half-cocked that I have no idea how you are still among the living sometimes."_

_They crossed the street and stopped in front of the LexCorp building. A little platform had been put up so the Lex could make his announcement, and some of the press were already milling about just in front of it. Lois took the lead, pushing through the crowd until they both had prime spots near the front. She looked over at him as she pulled her recorder out of her purse._

"_I am still amongst the living, Smallville, because of Superman. He's kept me safe for years, and I don't think he knows how much I appreciate it. I don't go into anything half-cocked, though. I always have a plan of attack, it just doesn't always work out the way I plan it."_

"_What about the docks, a month before our wedding?"_

"_That... well, I... ok, that plan was not what one would call fleshed out, but it worked out in the end and we got the story."_

"_Worked out? You were taken hostage! Again!"_

"_Eh, mediocre criminals at best. Even after being hit upside the head with kryptonite, Superman had no trouble with 'em."_

"_You know, I bet if I asked Superman, he would agree with me that you need to think about things more before you jump into them. In fact, I'll go so far as to say I am certain he would agree with me."_

_She glared at him and was about to say something when he looked over to the platform, finding Lex walking up to the microphone. He heard Lois growl a little, the same way she always did when she saw him anymore. It had been like that ever since he had told her that it was probably men connected to Lex that had attacked her back in 2008._

"_Ladies and Gentlemen, it pleases me to announce that LexCorp and the City of Metropolis have reached a deal that will ensure our home is one of the safest cities in all of America, if not the world. The newer security measures will show undesirable people that they are not welcome in Metropolis, and if they try to steal from us or hurt us, we will fight back and bring them to justice."_

_Clark had to hold his eyes back. They were fighting very hard to roll at Lex uttering the word justice. _

_Forty five minutes later, Lois and Clark were back in the office and sitting at their desks. The rest of the press conference had been a bunch of technical jargon that Clark had tried his best to follow, but found himself wishing he had Chloe to explain it to him. He flipped a page of the packet that had been handed out, going into even further technical detail so people could see just how secure the system was._

_Just then, he heard a call for help. _

"_What is it?"_

_He looked over at Lois, who was looking at him in the way she always did when he heard somebody calling for help._

"_Tour bus turned over the highway. People need medical attention." Clark bounced up out of his chair. "Wait for Perry to send you to the scene before going, Lois. Love you." He didn't say anything more to her before jogging off to the stairs, x-raying them as he went. Finding nobody, he sped up to the roof, shed his suit and took off. He could only imagine how Lois had huffed over his request._

_He landed at the scene a second later, immediately setting to the task of pulling people away to a safe place away from the wreckage. When a fire sprang up on the bottom side of the bus, he hit it with a blast of frozen air that made sure it couldn't happen again. After a couple trips of taking injured people to the hospital, press started showing up, Lois one of the earliest. He was grateful that she at least made the appearance of having waited for Perry to say something unless she had driven like a mad woman across town._

_After flying the other couple seriously inured people to the hospital, Clark turned the bus back on its wheels. Everybody else that had been involved only had minor scrapes and bruises, fortunately._

"_Superman!"_

_Clark turned and looked at Lois, one of a throng of reporters approaching him. "Superman, what happened here?"_

"_A semi side swiped this tour bus, turning it over on its side."_

"_Was anybody killed?"_

_That was not Lois. He was glad his wife had more tact than to ask that question straight out, though thinking of Lois and tact together did seem odd._

"_Fortunately, no. I took the more seriously injured to the hospital, and those that are here or being taken to the hospital currently had only scrapes and bruises." Clark zoned out for a second, hearing another call for help. This one was nowhere near Metropolis. He turned back to the reporters._

"_If you'll all excuse me." He took off slowly at first, then shot away at top speed._

_Clark landed on the balcony and slipped inside the apartment, exhaling as he did so. After the tour bus, it had been a long day. A mudslide in Indonesia had required hours of his help, and the same had been true for a five alarm fire of a slum type area in eastern Africa. So many people had been burned..._

_Clark shed his Superman tights, putting on a t-shirt and jeans in their stead. He slipped his glasses on and walked out of the bedroom, finding Lois sitting on the couch and eating pizza. He couldn't have been less shocked to see anything in his life. She spotted him as he walked towards her and sat up._

"_Hey! What's been going on to keep you away all day?"_

_He grabbed a slice of pizza, taking a bite before answering. He nearly groaned in delight as he tasted all the various meats on it. He took a moment to savor before swallowing and answering Lois's question._

"_Well, after the tour bus crashed I was needed in Indonesia. There was a mudslide and it took a while to make sure those that could be helped were. Almost immediately after that, while I was flying back to Metropolis, I heard a call for help in east Africa. A slum in one of the cities had caught fire and been burning for hours. I don't know why I hadn't heard anything before then, but I got there when I could."_

"_What happened?"_

"_I don't know. I got about fifteen different stories on how it was started, and I think most of those were made up. I was able to put it out without a whole lot of trouble, but the people... there were so many people that had been badly burned that I couldn't help." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I hate when I can't help them. I know I can't be everywhere, but..._

"_Hey, don't do this to yourself." He looked over at her, and she scooted closer to him on the couch and put the pizza box on the coffee table. She then wrapped her arms around him and snuggled her face into his chest. "There was nothing you could have done, Smallville. Simple as that. You helped those you could, which is all you or anybody on Earth can do. You may not be from here, but you are here, and as such are governed by what is and is not possible. Kind of."_

_Clark took a sullen bite of pizza, wishing he could protest her logic. "I just wish..."_

_She pushed herself up and kissed him softly. "I know, Smallville, and I love you for it. What happened afterwards?"_

_Clark swallowed the last bit of his pizza before speaking. "After that, there was a meeting of the League. No major business, just discussion."_

"_What were you guys discussing?"_

"_This and that. Mostly seeing if anybody needed help, best way to stay in communication... you know, the usual."_

"_Still won't wear the ear piece, will you?"_

_Clark shook his head. "Maybe someday, but with as many pictures I have taken of me, I don't want people seeing the ear piece. It lends itself to a business kind of approach or view on things, and I don't want people to start seeing me that way. I will be here to help people see the good, no matter what."_

"_And again, I love you for it."_

_They settled in for a couple hours of television before yawning finally became more common for Lois than blinking. "Want to sack out for the night?"_

"_Yeah, just let me grab a snack first." He smiled as she got up and walked into the kitchen. He turned the television off and stood up, stretching a little as he did. He looked back and found Lois walking towards him with a peanut butter covered celery stick in hand._

"_Good to go?"_

_She nodded, as apparently having just taken a bite she was unable to form the words for a response. He followed her into the bedroom, shutting the door behind him as he pulled his shirt off and tossed it in the hamper. He dropped his pants and slipped into bed, waiting for Lois to do the same as she finished her food._

_She finally slid in next to him and he wrapped her up in his arms, placing a kiss on her head. "Goodnight, Lo. Love you."_

"_Love you too, Smallville. And I love you, baby girl."_

_He placed a hand on the one she had rested on her stomach. "As do I."_

_Clark landed on the balcony and stifled a yawn as he slipped into the apartment, the first rays of daylight touching his back. There had been multiple calls for help during the night, along with a bank robbery attempt. It had been as busy a night as it had a day, for the most part, and now he felt guaranteed to be yawning through work. Everybody was ok, though, so it was worth it._

_Closing the door behind him, Clark did his best to walk through the room quietly so he wouldn't wake Lois. As deep a sleeper as she'd been the last few days, though, he doubted he could wake her even if he did make an abundance of noise. Heck, it might take a good shake if the previous day had been any indication._

_Her proclivity towards the unhappy and less than flattering nicknames made him want to be careful, though. If he woke her up by being loud, he was liable to be called 'thumper' or some such name that was not all that desirable. _

_He wasn't angry about it, just slightly annoyed. He understood that she was unhappy about her clothes not fitting and all her future discomfort. He also knew that she loved their baby more than she could express, so instead she expressed her frustration at what it takes to actually get the baby into their arms. Chloe had not been dissimilar when Jack was gestating._

_Clark stepped into the closet and stepped out a second later wearing jeans and a t-shirt. He watched Lois sleep for a second, then padded out to the kitchen and started grabbing some pans out of the cupboards., setting them on the stove. Grabbing some eggs out of the fridge, he cracked a few open into the pan and turned the burner on low heat. He grabbed the milk and poured a little in before scrambling them._

_He leaned back against the counter, listening to the eggs cook more than watching. He looked out the window, the sun starting to rise above the buildings now. He looked back towards their room, hearing the alarm clock go off and a muffled grunt in response as the snooze button got whacked. Smiling, he moved the eggs around so they wouldn't burn and tossed some bacon in another pan, letting it start to sizzle. He tossed the rest of the package back in the fridge._

_A few minutes later, he heard the alarm go off again and another muffled grunt as a hand slammed onto it. He waited a minute for her to appear, drowsy and probably annoyed the she wasn't going to be getting any coffee, but she never appeared. Slightly surprised, he figured it to be one of those mornings where it took a team of Clydesdales to pull her out of bed. Of course, she'd become fond of not wasting the day lately, so he figured he should get to waking her up. _

_Piling the food onto a couple plates and pouring out a glass of orange juice for her, Clark left his on the table while carrying Lois's to their bedroom. Few things woke her up faster than food not far from her._

_When he got into the room, Lois was laying on her back, apparently asleep again. He walked up to the bed and sat down lightly, then held the plate a couple feet in front of her, letting the smell waft. Two seconds later, Lois began to stir, then shot up like a bolt as she took a deep breath through her nose. The only time she ever sat up more quickly was when he was holding coffee for her, and the last time he'd done that had resulted in her moving as quickly as any human he had ever seen. Lois being Lois, though, had thought nothing of it._

_He watched as her eyes slid open, fixing themselves on the food in front of her. She started to grin, then looked over at him and her eyes went wide._

"_What the hell are you doing, Smallville?"_

_Nope, not a good morning. "Bringing you breakfast in bed, Lo." He held up the bacon and eggs as proof. "See, food. Breakfast food."_

"_Great, I love breakfast brought to me, but let me rephrase so you understand my question: what the hell are you doing in my apartment? Well, that's a silly question, since you always seem to be around, so what the HELL are you doing in my room? And when did we get close enough for you to call me Lo?"_

"_Huh? What are you talking about? I always call you Lo and this is..." _

_Clark paused as her phrase struck him. Not now. It couldn't be happening now, not with the baby on the way. That would just be a cruel twist of fate, even with Lois's luck when it came to these things. He pushed his negative thoughts aside for the moment, taking a deep breath and steeling himself to check the facts._

"_Lois, this is going to sound odd, but what is today's date?"_

"_June 8__th__, Smallville, but that is an awful answer to the question I asked. Good thing you want to be asking the questions and not answering them for a living. Now, if you don't mind, leave the food and get out!"_

_More than he ever had before, Clark cursed. Not out loud, but it was not a pretty picture in his head. When he ran out of phrases he knew, he started using ones that sounded approximately like things Lois would say when extremely upset or annoyed. He rubbed a hand over his face and sat the plate of food down on his bedside table._

_He looked up as the covers shifted and watched Lois stand up. "Look, Smallville, it's not that I don't appreciate a guy that can cook. I do. I really do, considering I can't cook to save my life. Just, how about next time you feel like making somebody breakfast you stay in the kitchen and don't get in bed with me. Or, you know, ask so I can tell you no."_

_Clark watched her open her mouth to say more, frown, and look down. He grimaced, having ignored the fact that she was going to find out about the baby very quickly. This was just not going to be an easy morning. At least last time all he'd had to explain was an engagement ring and her being sore. This time, it was explaining that she was pregnant. And it just had to happen while she was showing._

"_What the FUCK is going on with my stomach?"_

_Clark sighed. No way to ease her into things this time. "Lois, crazy as this sounds, you're pregnant. The date is not June 8__th__, 2008. It is, however, March 15__th__, 2018."_

_She looked at him like he'd grown an extra head. "Have you been smoking something, Smallville? More importantly, have I been smoking something that has me hallucinating you telling me I'm pregnant?" It seemed that she finally noticed that she wasn't in the room she remembered and looked around. "Jesus, where am I?"_

_Not good. Oh so much not good going on. Clark rubbed at his neck, hoping to rid himself of a bit of the tense feeling that had settled there. It didn't work by any means. He hated this part of it. It hurt her, and he would never like being one to do that._

"_Lois, look in the mirror."_

"_What? Why?"_

"_Just... please?"_

"_Fine, but after that you are explaining all this bullshit to me and... what happened?" He watched her bring her hands up to her face and start tracing her fingers along the scars. "What happened to my face?"_

"_On June 7__th__, after Chloe left for the Planet in the taxi, you were walking home. A few blocks into the walk, you were attacked. The police think that it was a group of men, and we believe that they were connected to Lex because of your gun running article. The first failed attempt on your life was sloppy, but this was not. That's why we think Lex is behind it."_

"_But... I would remember that!"_

"_The doctors best guess is that you have a form of post traumatic stress disorder. Basically, the memory of the attack is in your subconscious. After a period of time, the memory starts to bleed into your dreams. When it starts getting too vivid, your brain pulls a forgetting act so that you won't remember and your memory is reset. Let me ask... is the last thing you remember starting your walk after Chloe took off?"_

_She nodded, looking at him in the mirror. _

"_That's how it's always been. This is the third time you've forgotten."_

"_This is..."_

"_I know."_

"_No, you really don't." She stared in the mirror a minute before turning to face him. "So, we're..."_

"_Married."_

_She glanced down at her left hand and grimaced, causing him to want to frown. He held back, though; now was not the time for him to take things personally. "I wasn't on your radar due to mopiness, if I recall. Right?"_

"_Pretty much."_

"_I got over it."_

"_I can see that." She stared him in the eye for a moment, then began shaking her head. "No. No! This is not real. I mean, it seems real but it isn't real. This is a big thing to make me royally confused or hurt me or something, anything! Hell, maybe I time traveled in my sleep, but I am not supposed to be here!_

"_No, not even that. This is 2008. It has to be 2008. I do not have amnesia, because that is something people get when they hit they're heads too hard. Me? I get hit on my head just hard enough to NOT get amnesia! The scars and the stomach? Prosthetics."_

_Clark about jumped off the bed as Lois started pulling at the scars, trying to pull them off. If he stopped her, though, she was just going to say that it was proof and he was trying to keep her from proving that she was, in fact, in 2008. He sighed in relief when she pulled her hands away from her face and did not start pulling on her stomach._

"_Son a bitch, that hurt. What kind of prosthetics are these?"_

"_The kind that are real scars, Lo."_

"_No, you do not get to call me that. You have in no way earned use of the nickname Lo, Smallville." Oh, good, he got to go through the not calling her 'Lo' thing again. That had been a task that had taken him far too long to remember last time this had happened. "Hell, I bet you're the one with amnesia and are just being used to get me to buy into all this! You look like you haven't really aged, if it has been ten years."_

_Clark reached into his pocket and pulled out his glasses, slipping them on. "I've aged, Lois. I need glasses now." Damn it, he hated lying to her._

"_I bet you use those just to throw me off the trail."_

_Uncanny statement, considering. "No such luck. You were attacked, you forget at random intervals of time, we're married and have a daughter on the way."_

"_No... no, I would never do that to a child. I would never curse somebody to have me for a mother. That's where you lose me."_

_Clark stood up off the bed but didn't move any closer to her. "Lois..."_

"_NO! I would never do that!" She looked up at him, as fierce and scared as he'd ever seen her look. "I don't care what you say, I would never, EVER put a child through having to deal with me! Never, Clark!"_

_She turned away and stared off into space, the glint of tears in her eyes. It was like every insecurity and fear she'd had about being a mother had welled up and forced itself into her head all at once. Clark took a step forward then stopped himself, knowing that he couldn't help her. She wouldn't let him, not anymore. He didn't know if she'd let anyone close enough to her so she could be helped through this, but he had to try._

"_Do you want me to call Chloe? She could be here in a few hours, and you can talk to her now." Lois simply nodded, still staring into space. He didn't think had ever seen her look so hurt. Clark grabbed his cell phone out of his bedside table and dialed Chloe, hoping she would pick up quickly. Fortunately, she did._

"_Hey, Clark. To what do I owe the early call?"_

"_It's Lois. She... she forgot again last night. She'd like to speak to you."_

"_Of course. Put her on."_

_Clark walked over to Lois and held out the phone. She hesitated a second and looked up at him, then wiped at one watery eye as she took the phone and held it up to her ear._

"_Chloe? Thank God it's you. Clark said..."_

_He didn't hear the rest as he walked out of the room, giving her privacy to talk. Sitting down on the couch, he leaned over and rested his face in his hands._

_- - -_

"Wait, so Chloe can tell part of this." Lois looked over at her cousin. "What was said in the phone call?"

Chloe sat up from her semi-slouched position in the chair and stayed quiet for a minute. "Um... yeah. Sorry, I was trying to remember what exactly was said."

---

_Chloe pulled a hand through her hair as she waited for Clark to put Lois on the phone. Why did it have to have happened now? Why couldn't Lois have been able to just remember? Having a baby was supposed to make people happy, for Christ sake._

"_Chloe?"_

_She sighed. She hated these conversations. "I'm here, Lo."_

"_Thank God it's you. Clark said that he was calling you, but with everything going on, I wasn't sure."_

"_Lois, Clark would never lie to you. Trust me."_

"_Chloe, I... what happened? How did this happen?"_

"_What's Clark told you?"_

"_He said that I was attacked after you left for the Planet. I mean, I've got the scars on my face to substantiate his claim, but I haven't checked the rest of me." Lois paused, and Chloe just waited. Interrupting wouldn't do any good. "Why is this happening?"_

"_I don't know. I would fix it if it were in my power."_

"_I can't be pregnant, Chloe. I just... it's not right. No child should have to be part of me. No child should have to deal with all my issues, not to mention my genes. When I think of how much I'll ruin a child by being its mother..."_

"_Lois, you'll be an excellent mother, no matter what you say. You will always do what's best for that little girl you're carrying, and that's what it takes. It's what I try to do for Jack, Aly and Liz every minute of every single day."_

"_Who the hell are they?"_

_Chloe sighed. Apparently Clark hadn't gotten to that part. "Clark didn't tell you I'm married, did he?"_

"_We kinda got stuck on other topics, but I could use the momentary distraction."_

"_I married Bruce Wayne, Lo."_

"_No way."_

"_Very way. We have a son, Jack, that turned four in the beginning of February. We have twin daughters, Aly and Liz, that were born this past December 1__st__. You were actually in the room with me when I delivered them."_

"_I've always thought delivering babies was an odd statement. It makes me think of some guy carrying around a basket of babies and yelling that he has hot babies for sale, and to get 'em while they're cheap."_

"_Trust me, babies are never cheap."_

"_Not that it would be a problem, since you married Bruce."_

"_Very true." Chloe paused a second, taking in a deep breath before speaking. She'd almost been sucked into the topic change. "You're going to be a good mother, Lois. No matter what your head is telling you, you will be a good mother. You've got too much love in your heart to fail."_

"_But, I don't..."_

"_You will. I know you, and you will. And you'll love Clark, too."_

"_I don't buy that."_

"_He loves you more than you can possibly imagine, Lois. I can't imagine what this is doing to him, but he loves you. You two have been through so much... it's just one of those things that is meant to be."_

"_Chloe, I don't get meant to be. My life has always been about what's needed to be done, not what I want. I don't even want Clark, anyway!"_

"_I've never seen two people as in love as you two, Lois. Twice, and in different ways."_

"_What does that mean?"_

_Chloe frowned and sighed. That was stupid of her. Here she was trying to help her cousin and instead she brings things up that may just confuse her further. She pulled the phone away from her ear and switched it to the other, looking up at the sky a second before answering. _

"_The last time you forgot was the night you and Clark got engaged the first time." No need to mention she had done the proposing. "You two were like something out of a romance novel. It was something special to be around. After you forgot, it took a little while but you two got it right again. It wasn't the same love, because different things had transpired in your mind, but it was just as strong. It's why you decided you wanted to have a baby with him."_

"_What?"_

_Well, she was really throwing everything into it. If this didn't work, Clark was going to throw her to the moon. He'd put a space suit on her first, but he'd do it. "It was all you, Lois. You didn't even tell him. You took a chance the night the twins were born and talked him into making love with no protection, and that chance worked out. You're pregnant right now because you wanted it."_

"_I... I wanted to have a baby?"_

_Lois said it so quietly that Chloe almost didn't hear it. "You couldn't explain it. You said that being around me while I was pregnant had given you baby fever. It was love, though, and you wanted to start a family with the man you loved more you thought you could."_

"_This can't be real. Any world where I want to have a baby is not a real world."_

"_Before you reject reality, try it out. I'm not saying to just accept it all, but live in it for a little while and find out what it's like. Once you get used to it, I think you'll like it more than you think."_

"_Uh... I... I'm going to let you go, Chloe."_

_Chloe smiled, hoping she'd gotten through. "I love you, Lo. So does Clark. Remember that."_

"_Yeah. I'll talk to you later."_

---

"Guess I'm up again?"

"You got it, Smallville."

---

_Clark stood in the kitchen, staring out the window. He had cleaned up all the breakfast stuff, tossing his food as it had gone cold. It was a beautiful looking morning. _

"_Smallville?"_

_Clark looked over at Lois, who was standing just outside their bedroom door. "Hey. Did you have a good talk with Chloe?"_

"_Yeah. It was... enlightening. She said some things that are hard to believe."_

"_I thought she might." He walked out of the kitchen and into the living room, never taking his eyes off of hers. "I know you probably don't want to hear it, but I do love you and will never lie to you."_

"_That's what she said. She also said that we had something special. That I was the one that took having a baby into my own hands, so to speak. That I loved you more than I know I am capable of and that I will love this baby."_

"_She's right."_

"_She usually is." She sighed, but never looked away from him. "I don't know what I'm doing. I've never felt like this before, felt so lost before."_

"_I know, and I don't expect you to know what you're doing right now. I can't imagine how difficult this is, especially waking up pregnant this time. All I had to explain a couple years back was an engagement ring."_

_He watched as Lois finally looked away and walked over to the couch, sitting down. "How is this going to work, Smallville? How can this possibly work out?"_

"_Because we always work, Lois. Always. You'll see. You'll find the world hasn't changed all that much, you'll adjust and find that happiness isn't very far away."_

"_I don't need happiness... not for me, anyway." She looked up at him, swallowing and looking scared, which made his heart hurt. She never looked scared. "Don't let me screw up this baby. Please, Clark, promise me that you will make sure that this baby is ok despite me."_

_He walked over and sat down next to her. He started to reach to take her hand out of habit, but had to pull it back. "You won't do anything that will cause me to have to. You will be a great mother."_

"_I hope you're right. For this little girl's sake, I hope you're right."_

---

"And everything worked out. You are, in fact, a great mother."

Lois eyed Clark. "I don't think I really qualify as great, Smallville. Passable, bordering on good is what I give myself."

"I would never lie to you, Lois, remember? You are great."

Lois rolled her eyes and looked over to Chloe, who was grinning as if she expected it. "Great, cuz."

She sighed, fighting a smile. "You two are insane."


	51. Chapter 51

---- Chapter 51

Lois walked into the apartment, cracking her neck and stripping off her jacket as she did so. She tossed it over the back of a chair, dropped her purse in the chair and shook some snow out of her hair while rubbing at her nose to warm it up a bit. It would have been nice had this whole healing thing she got from AJ extended to protection from the elements.

Stepping out of her shoes, she walked over to the phone and dialed the number for the farm, waiting a second before getting an answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey Martha, it's Lois."

"Hello, dear. How are you and Almond Joy doing?"

Lois smiled. She didn't think she'd ever tire of hearing Martha's kind words, always making sure that she was alright. "I'm doing fine, as is AJ. I just wanted to call and tell you that Clark is going to be a little while before picking Jordan up. There's a big pileup and on the highway, requiring Superman's help. Even with him involved, it doesn't appear to be quick in clearing up."

"I'm sorry to hear that. Was anybody hurt?"

"Yeah, a few people needed to taken to the hospital Superman style. I was down there a few minutes ago, actually, and am going to write the story up and email it to Perry for the morning edition."

"Well then, I'll let you go. Do you think Clark will be here soon, or should I go ahead and make some dinner for Jordan?"

"I don't know how long it will be, so go ahead and feed her if you'd like to. What you make is going to be better in taste and nutritional value than anything we usually do anyway, and you'll never have me depriving my daughter of Martha Kent's cooking."

"Thank you for the compliment, Lois. I'll talk to you soon. Love you."

"Bye, Martha."

Lois turned the phone off and put it down. She walked into the bedroom and found the laptop, unplugged it, and brought it out to the living room. She turned it on and waited for it to get going, but she really felt like procrastinating the article a bit. It seemed a little jaded, but big car pileups were something she had written before and not something that took a lot of time if one had the facts.

Knowing it had to be done, though, Lois pulled out her notepad and got to writing the story. Twenty minutes later, she had it written. Not wanting to bother with spell check, she went ahead and emailed it to Perry. He was an editor, so it would give him something to edit.

Standing up again, she walked back into the bedroom and unbuttoned her pants, letting them drop off. She stepped out of them and unbuttoned her shirt, pulling it off and tossing it on the bed. Looking in the mirror, she placed a hand on her stomach. She looked months ahead of where she actually was in her pregnancy. She didn't know what one should look like at four and a half months, but she didn't think it would be as big as she was. When she stood next to Chloe, nobody thought they had conceived within a week of each other unless she were to tell them she was having twins, which was annoying.

It was still hard to believe that she was pregnant. She'd made herself accept things so quickly that while she'd had a lot of disbelief, she had needed to dispel it all. Things still caught up to her here and there, though. It was such a mind blowing thing that she didn't know if she'd be used to it by the time she was giving birth.

She inspected her entire body, tracing her finger along her stomach before it trailed off onto her thighs. She had to back up a bit to see them in the mirror, but she could tell they were getting bigger. They didn't look all the big, yet, but they felt heftier than they had been. That led her up to her breasts, which definitely felt and looked heftier. She held each up in a hand and noted that they were still very sensitive. Her thoughts drifted to Clark and what they had done last night. Yeah, very sensitive.

Grinning, she pulled out some sweat pants and put them on, then walked into the closet, finding her plaid sleeping shirt hanging up and buttoned it on. Honestly, she loved the feel of the shirt. She hadn't taken to sleeping in it as much since she'd forgotten, but she thought she might soon. It was all sorts of soft and really deserving to be slept in. It was also warm, which was obviously good this time of year, even if Clark was her own personal furnace.

Lois walked back to the dresser and kicked it a couple times, watching as the secret drawer popped open. She pulled out the diary and closed the drawer before walking out to the living room and sitting down on the couch. Clark had told her earlier that after she forgot, there weren't really any stories until Jordan's birth, and they had already done that one. She got the cliff notes version anyway, making sure she remembered the important stuff before he'd had to head out to help people.

Bathtub, grunting, baby, happiness, bed, placenta and night at the hospital. Seemed simple enough.

Basically, she figured, the diary and the flashbacks were meshed up in the time frame now. It was about time. She didn't know if she blamed Clark for only telling her stories when she asked, which she knew was all sorts of irrational, or blamed herself for getting ahead in the diary. Maybe she could blame herself for not finding the diary sooner after forgetting in 2018. Shaking her head at how ridiculous that seemed, she decided to just go ahead and read. She flipped to the next entry, taking a deep breath before starting to read.

September 28, 2018

I love this little girl laying next to me. I love her so much it's scary, but I can't stop. Every time she looks at me with those eyes, my eyes, I melt a little and just want to hold her close.

It's not like they say it is. The love is just... the best kind of overwhelming I've ever felt. I want to be around her all the time. I want to watch her move her arms and legs around. Watching her sleep has become one of my favorite things to do at all hours of the day. She's my baby girl. I don't know what else to say.

She was born on August 18th in circumstances I could not have imagined. I looked at the last entry, and I see that I wrote about the backaches I was having all the time. Well, those turned out to be a lot more than that after that entry.

I'd been having especially intense backaches for most of the day and didn't really feel like having sex, so I decided to take a hot bath to relax the muscles (I hadn't mentioned those last time, but I'd really been alternating between the massages and hot baths for a couple weeks). There had been the occasional muscle tightness across my stomach during the day, but after thinking about what happened a hundred times, I still maintain that they were Braxton-Hicks. There was no consistency to the contractions.

Anyway, like I said, taking a bath. I'd filled it as much as I could to where it wouldn't run over the top when I was in it, so that when I slouched I was almost totally immersed. Yay for having a larger than normal tub.

I was laying there with my eyes closed, imagining holding Jordan when she was older (I'd been kind of dreamy once we finally chose a name). I saw my baby girl giggling in my arms as we messed around on the floor in front of a coloring book. I know it seems silly, but it was so vivid... the best way to describe it is a vision. Yes, it just sounds like a daydream, but...

I know that it sounds strange, but with everything we've experienced over the years, I wouldn't doubt that what I saw happens someday.

But not the point. Getting off track here. Thinking of Jordan tends to do that to me.

I was laying in the tub, with one leg splayed up over the side of even with the tub as full as it was. For some reason, it felt good. Don't ask me why, it just did. My back tensed up and I had been in a little while so the water was shilling a bit, so I leaned forward to drain out some of the chill and put a little more hot water in the tub. That's when it happened.

The baby just... dropped. It went from feeling like I had a tiny person pressing down in my lower stomach to feeling like I had a tiny person in my vagina and running towards the light, so to speak. I had about nine seconds between her dropping into the birth canal and the urge to push where I just had a 'What the hell is going on?!' moment. Then the urge to push hit.

I'd wondered what the urge to push would feel like. I'd asked Chloe, and all she had said was that she'd never really had the overwhelming urge to push some women describe. She'd just gotten to ten centimeters and they'd told her to start pushing, so she did, and then she had a baby or two.

To be frank, it felt like I had to go to the bathroom. Not 'Huh, I have to go to the bathroom but I can hold it,' but a 'HOLY CRAP IT'S HAPPENING NOW!' emergency where had I pants, there would have been stains. Except in this case, there would have been a baby in my pants, which probably would have been even more awkward.

(On a related note, Chloe actually said that accidental pooping during birth is fairly common, so I thought it was something I had coming. Yay for not enjoying that perk.)

I tried the breathing through the first urge. I 'he he he'd' like a woman breathing giggles one syllable at a time, but it didn't do anything. I wasn't in control of my body. Despite that fact that I was actively not helping my muscles do anything, they were doing it on their own and I felt Jordan moving right along, in a do not stop until you pass go/labia manner.

So, in between urges, I yelled for Clark and waited a second, then it hit again and I started pushing.

It didn't hurt, per se, at least not yet. I don't think I had time to really notice pain, because it was happening so quickly. I went from laying in a tub to relieve a backache to actively giving birth in about a minute, so the mind was less that aware of a few things.

I pushed with it, grunting a little as I did so because it's a grunting kind of thing. There's a lot of effort in helping a body pass out of your body, though admittedly I only had a short burst of effort where most women have hours and hours of exhaustion and effort.

That was when Clark got there. I let up with the grunting as the urge let up too, and Clark asked me if he could get me to a hospital. I was too distracted to be sarcastic (looking back, it was a prime opportunity for snark), and just told him that the baby was coming now through deep breaths.

Another contraction started, and I may have said something like 'it's coming again' because Clark told me to trust my body and push when I felt the urge. That was NOT a problem, because there wasn't much I could do to stop from pushing had I wanted to, as established earlier in this entry. This one hurt, and then top to it off Jordan crowned.

Ow.

Clark did something in super speed that caused a little gust of wind, and then told me to breathe through the crowning so that I didn't tear. I wonder now, if my perineum had torn, if it would have healed, since Jordan would no longer be in me. I'm glad I didn't have to deal with it, though.

What I really wonder, though, is how Clark could have been calm through me giving birth in our bath tub. The man just does not get flapped! Here I was, giving birth to our daughter with no buildup to the event like most women have, and the man comes in, asks if he can get me to the hospital and tells me to breathe through her crowning so that I don't tear like it's just another day. Unbelievable.

So, I breathed. Well, for a moment. Her head birthed a little more and I, involuntarily mind you, started pushing again with a moan. I don't know why I moaned; it wasn't really a moan moment so much as a screaming one. I usually don't moan unless Clark and I are in the middle of something that leads to children being born. I don't really think childbirth was orgasmic for me, though some women find it to be. More power to 'em, I guess.

I moaned, I pushed and her head was birthed. She actually rotated for a second, which I read was so that the shoulders aligned to birth easier. Whatever it was, I needed to push again, and the shoulders hurt like hell. Pretty sure I screamed during that.

The shoulders were out and then she just slipped out into Clark's hands. After a second he pulled her up out of the water, and I guess I had splashed some while pushing or something because the water was low enough so that he could place her on my chest, which is what he did.

He swished out her mouth with his pinky (don't ask me where he figured out to do that) and said something about her being here. I would have taken more notice, but I was enamored. The second I saw her I was so in love it would be scary if it wasn't so great. My baby girl was born successfully, something I had been kind of worried about because she was not small by a longshot.

9lbs, 8oz. I pushed nine and a half pounds of baby out of me. Un-freaking-believable, isn't it?

She then let out a wail and I had a Grinch moment where my heart grew like, three sizes. The love I had felt a second ago was nothing compared to what I felt when I heard her. It's undescribable, really. The Grinch thing is not even really an apt metaphor because it wasn't like my heart had been too small before, but it gets the point across.

I reached down and ran a hand over her, unable to stop from smiling or crying out of pure, unadulterated happiness. After a moment I wanted to hold her, so I carefully pulled her up into my arms. It was... ya know, for a journalist I sure find myself having indescribable feelings a lot. I like being able to describe things, but I guess it just won't happen at all times for me.

Anyway, I held her. It was amazing. My baby girl was here, and this may set women back or sound like I was some loopy nut with a crappy life. Maybe it doesn't and it's completely natural, who cares. I felt whole. I felt like a piece I'd never known was missing was suddenly in place.

Clark pulled the plug and let all the water drain. Soon after, he was lifting Jordan and I up and carried us to the bed, setting us down gently. I barely noticed as I was holding Jordan close and just looking at her. I didn't want to stop looking at her, ever.

Clark came over and sat next to me on the bed, leaning over and kissing Jordan lightly as he covered the both of us with a blanket. He asked me how I was, and I told him I was great, because I was. I had my baby girl in my arms.

Do you see a theme here?

We all just sat there for a few minutes before I thought about if she was hungry or not when I noticed her doing a weird thing with her mouth that looked like sucking. I got her all situated, which took a little while since she couldn't seem to latch on right, but we got going, and that brought about the pleasantness of more contractions. They weren't really all that bad, just hard enough to deliver the placenta in a timely manner.

Clark called the paramedics and my doctor a few minutes after the contractions started again, figuring I should get checked out on all that. I delivered the placenta, Clark doing the catching honors again with a bowl, and then the paramedics got there. Jordan nursed through it all.

They inspected the placenta and said it was all out, thankfully. A quick ride to Metropolis General and an Apgar test later (her first of many perfect scores I foresee for her, thank you very much), I was set up in a bed and Jordan was wearing a nifty pink hat along with being swaddled. They taught me how to do that, too.

We had to spend the night there, and aside from making a couple saves, Clark was there with us the entire time, holding Jordan almost as much as I did. He took to it naturally, of course. He was telling her that he was always going to protect her, all the things that you expect a father to be telling his little girl.

While I was in the hospital, I was told about a new procedure to remove scarring. They said I could have it done once I was feeling up to it. I thought about the scars, about whether or not I wanted to have to explain to my daughter about how her mother was attacked and as a result, her face looked different. I knew that I would have to explain things anyway when I forgot, but I thought about her being a kid, and people telling her that her mommy looked funny...

I barely thought about the scars anymore. When I'd first forgotten, I would look in the mirror and the first thing I thought about was how different I looked with scars where once had been smooth skin. Then as time passed, I stopped noticing them. They just became a part of my face, no different than my eyes or nose. They just... were.

But did I want my daughter growing up thinking her mom was disfigured? I remember what it was like as a kid. Children are brutal. They'll latch on anything and tease people about it. I know it's strange, thinking about what your child's friends or non-friends may latch on to in the future, but it's the kind of thing that gets in my head these days. I'm always thinking about Jordan and what's best for her, even when she's ten years old.

It's why I had the scars removed. You know this, of course, since your face is unscarred. The rest of your body is, too, because the jackass that did it removed all my scars and not just the ones on my face and others I'd indicated from the attack. I don't even know how it happened, because I thought I was awake for the whole thing.

I must have let my mind drift to Jordan and just completely zoned out, because after an hour the guy said we were done, and all my scars were gone. I had nothing but smooth skin all over my body. While this is the dream of some women, I am not some women. Scars were a reminder of where I had been and what I had accomplished.

Ah well.

The important thing is, my daughter is here. She made quite an entrance, too. I think it's a sign of things to come. I don't think a child of Clark Kent could be anything less than a world changer, and our daughter may have inherited my tendency to do things with a bit of flair. I think it'll suit her, though I may be biased. I am her mother.

Lois closed the diary and started biting her lip. The quick description of the birth that Clark had given her earlier seemed a lot less necessary than it had seemed then. It also seemed much less detailed, because apparently she'd wanted herself to know exactly what had happened when she wrote about it in the diary. She appreciated the details, but the mental pictures she'd drawn while reading that had been... vivid.

Giving herself a shake, Lois put the diary down and got up off the couch, walking into the kitchen and grabbing the bowl of grapes in the fridge. She started plucking them off and popping them in her mouth as she walked back to the couch, sitting down next to the diary again. Grabbing the remote, she flipped on the television.

All the local channels were still running news, with live footage of Superman still working on the pileup. Sighing, Lois ate a few more grapes. She was glad that she'd told Martha to go ahead and make dinner for Jordan beyond just the nutritional value, because it didn't look like Clark was going to be home any time in the near future.

Placing the grapes on her side, she grabbed the diary again and flipped back to where she'd been and read through the details of Jordan's birth again. It was no less vivid the second time around. She really wanted to remember it, because it seemed that as soon as Jordan was born, it was just love. Overwhelming love that she felt for her daughter, much as she had the first night when she really realized that Jordan was her daughter.

Lois hoped it would be like that again with AJ. All of it, really. As crazy as it seemed to have been, Jordan's birth didn't seem like it lent itself to be the harrowing and long ordeal that childbirth seemed to be for most women. It was more of a wham, bam, thank you ma'am deal. She liked the prospect of that more than she did the prospect of hours and hours of pain.

Shaking her head, she knew that it was months away before she got to a point where that could happen. She hoped she was months away from something like that happening. No need for premature labor.

Lois stretched out a second, then laid a hand on her stomach when AJ kicked. She smiled and looked down at her stomach. "Well, hello to you too. I know it's a little early, but I'm putting in a request for a quick labor and delivery. If you want to be like your sister and make a quick entrance in the middle of a bath, be my guest. Heck, I'm already fairly certain you're going to be like your father, so some of that speed you'll probably inherit could be used in this. Please?"

When AJ kicked again, Lois took that as a yes.

Grinning at her own silliness, which she found went right along with her happiness, she flipped the pages in the diary until she got to the next entry.

October 15th, 2018

I reread the last entry in this, and I find that I left something out. I guess I was still under the 'New Mommy Haze' that Chloe has taken to calling it. She says she's seen it in numerous women with their first child (herself included), where they get wrapped up and the crazy of what's actually going on doesn't seem to penetrate for a little while. That 'haze' is no longer prevalent for me, and I have to say this:

Babies are a ton of work.

Don't get me wrong, I love my baby girl like nothing else in the world. Jordan will be first in my life, always. She gets my love until the day I die whether she wants it or not, and knowing me, there will be times we really butt heads over things. (You know as well as I that if mom had lived, we'd have had some knock down, drag out verbal wars with because of my tendencies towards the mischievous and the stubborn) But, first and foremost, I will always do what I think is best for her.

That said... I'm a little fried. Jordan has already proven just how much like her mother she is, because she does not appear to have inherited one single bit of the calm that Clark has. No, she is an all hours of the day kinda gal. Of course, this may be a baby thing, but I don't think I am that lucky. She also has the lungs of an elephant, unless I'm mistaken, and is not afraid to use them when she is perturbed.

And she is perturbed a lot. Well, that may not be entirely true. I think she likes attention, and when nobody is giving it to her, she does her best to get some. Whether it's displeasure or early signs that she likes to be the center of attention, who knows. If she ever has any brothers or sisters, that may be a problem. I assume that she'll calm with time, though. Here's hoping.

So far, I find that she is more of a napper than a full on sleeper. She'll sleep off and on during the day and night, but she doesn't really ever go down for long periods of time, though I am thinking of acquiring a new definition for long periods of time, because I am up for long periods of time these days.

One thing I can say, though, is that she likes the Daily Planet. I started taking her in with me a couple times a week a couple weeks ago, and Jordan was just looking around like she was taking it all in. She was a lot more calm in the hustle and bustle of the newsroom than she was at home for a few days.

I don't know what it was, but Clark' s theory is that she liked all the people. She was the same way at the hospital and the few days after she came home when she had people fussing over her all the time.

Yeah, center of attention.

Ten minutes after her first time in, she had Perry wrapped around her little finger and proclaiming that she would be the next generation of great journalists. Apparently, with her parents, she could be nothing else.

One thing I have noted she inherited from both her parents is a healthy appetite. I don't know how this didn't get mentioned last time (probably the 'New Mommy Haze'), but she eats like crazy. My nipples were all kind of sore until just recently because she was eating every couple hours and it took some time for them to either toughen up or become a little desensitized. And for the first couple weeks, I got some surprisingly strong contractions while breastfeeding. I don't feel 'em anymore, but that was something I wished I'd remembered Chloe warning me about.

Feeding, of course, brings me around to the subject of diapers.

Wow. I changed a couple now and then with the twins when I was pregnant, hoping to get the hang of it. It wasn't difficult, just kind of unpleasant, as common sense would tell you. It still hasn't become any more pleasant, and I think Jordan found a way to make it less pleasant. She is an impressive pooper.

I don't think that's a sentence I could have ever imagined thinking, let alone writing, until I became a parent.

The truth is, parenthood has changed how I see the world. It's not just about me anymore. It's not just about what I want, what I think I should do to be me. My life has changed to being about Jordan. It's like the mommy switch in my brain got flipped, because everything I think involves Jordan these days.

At work last Friday I was talking to Perry and he asked me how I planned to go about getting a story on a local business doing some damned dirty things. The first thought that popped into my head was about how I could do the investigation without it getting too crazy because Jordan needed me. I actually thought about how me doing my usual thing could leave Jordan without her mother for a while, if not forever should my luck run out.

I don't know what Perry thought, but I froze. It hadn't come to me until that point that the risks I always took in getting the story could have a negative effect on Jordan. It had always seemed like things would go back to being business as usual, but they couldn't.

I knew right then that I was going to have to refine my ways of getting stories so that my life was not at risk as much. It was probably something that was a long time coming, really, but I guess it took having a daughter to really figure it out.

What I haven't figured out is how I'm going to adapt to not taking as many risks. I doubt that it will be as quick a change as I made to being a mother, but then I don't have to push this out of my vagina and fall in love with it immediately. That seems unnecessarily graphic, but as you can tell by my wording, I like my style of story getting and am not looking forward to stopping myself from taking the usual steps.

I told Clark that I was going to have to change my ways, and he said something about having to see it to believe it. He did admit that if it was true, he figured he wouldn't lose nearly as many years off his life as he usually did every month or two. I maintain that I did nothing bad enough that caused him to lose years off his life. I think he just takes hostage situations way too seriously.

Martha, of course, has been great help with Jordan. She spent a week here in Metropolis when Jordan was born, and tries to get out here every couple weekends if we can't get to the farm. I felt kind of overwhelmed at first, right after Jordan was born, but Martha helped me through it, as did Chloe. It was a lot, knowing that there was a little life dependent on me for so much. It took me a few days to realize that I could handle it.

Speaking of Chloe, she's enjoying her life these days. The twins are good, quickly heading towards turning one. You can already see their personalities emerging, and it's as Chloe thought it would be: Aly is more like her and Liz is more like Bruce. Jack is also good, and it never fails to amaze me just how much of a little Chloe he is.

I'm tempted to run a DNA test on him and see if he isn't just Chloe with a different sex chromosome. I really can't tell that Bruce donated any genetic material. I would not be surprised to find evidence that one of Chloe's eggs had just gone wild to become Jack.

In the world of actual news... it's been a little quiet, actually. Lex hasn't been up to anything outwardly nefarious, though that doesn't mean he isn't planning nefariousness. The article I mentioned previously is something that Clark and I stumbled into, actually.

What appears to be happening is that a local business, which has been rising through the ranks and expanding to a bigger store on almost a yearly basis, is using child labor. How, you ask? Well, from what I've seen so far, it's clever and well hidden. His employee base has something in common: they've all adopted children, but nobody sees them at their homes. That's all I'm sure of for now, but put together those facts together with being told he uses child labor...

Let's just say I look forward to bringing this jackass to justice if it's true.

I don't really have much more to say. Jordan is currently nursing like she hasn't eaten in days, but I have her situated so that I can write while doing so. Breastfeeding is still one of things that strikes me as something that I can't believe I'm taking part in. I talked about it earlier and how my nipples have had to toughen up, but the fact that my daughter is actually sucking on my boob for food... it just kind of boggles the mind. My mind is actually boggled.

After a moments thought, I don't know that I've described it well with ming boggling. I would shrug, or do some other gesture to explain how strange I find it, because I don't know that words cover it, but I don't think gesturing translates into words any better than my feelings do. Once again, I am a journalist unable to describe something. All I can say is that it's a good thing I never have to describe my feelings in articles.

Clark is currently doing something with the Justice League, but I didn't ask what. There hasn't been any news on big things happening anywhere in the world, so I assume that it's just a meeting or something along those lines. If they are actually doing something in a world saving manner, they're hiding it pretty damn well. They are the Justice League, though, so being good at hiding major world badness wouldn't be shocking.

Well, apparently I did have more to say. But on that note, I now have nothing more to say and a crying, smelly daughter to tend to. I love her, but I look forward to her being able to talk and go to the bathroom in the actual bathroom. Truthfully, though, I'd never trade these days for anything. She's my daughter, and I'm happy to take care of her. More than happy.

It's a privilege. One I do not take lightly, and one I do not think you take lightly either, no matter when you are. She's our heart.

Lois closed the diary, smiling a little bit. She knew what her other self meant when she said that Jordan was her heart. She felt the exact same way. If anything ever happened to her... no, better to not go down that road. It would only lead to bad thoughts and crazy levels of protectiveness that would smother her daughter.

What was nice was to see a more realistic view of being a mother to a baby. She hadn't really expected things to be easy, and she was fairly certain all babies were different, but at least she had something to use as a reference for what was normal. Kind of. It had spared the graphic details she could really use, unlike the previous entry, but at least she knew that Jordan ate every couple hours at one point.

Sore nipples. That had not been something she'd ever thought of. It made sense, really, if you didn't have somebody sucking on your boob all day that when it started, it would require some toughening up. It didn't sound all that enjoyable, though, and Lois found the idea of her son sucking on her for food just as mind boggling as she'd apparently found it to be when Jordan was a baby.

Popping another grape in her mouth, Lois looked down at her stomach like she had earlier that evening. "You, AJ, are going to cause a whole lot of fuss, aren't you? You're going to put mommy through the ringer with all this pregnancy stuff, probably, and cap that off with being born. You're my little boy, and I will always love you no matter what you do, but labor might be the toughest part of our relationship. One can only hope.

"And then you're going to be a baby. You're going to need all of my attention at all hours of the day for nursing, for diaper changes and just general attention. I'm assuming that both of us will probably have some sleepless nights. Hopefully, though, you'll inherit more of your dad's mannerisms than your sister has. She is... she is me while looking like your dad. It's kind of weird, actually.

"But know this, and I know I say it to you a lot, but I don't feel I can say it enough: I love you. I love you like I love one other small person on this entire planet. I will always be there for you if it is humanly possible. You, along with your sister, will be the number one priority in my life. The same goes for your dad. He will always hold you and your sister first, because he loves you as much as I do. He doesn't get the up close and personal part of the relationship quite as much as I do, but he loves you just as much."

"Yes, he does."

"And so do I!"

Lois jumped, her eyes going wide for a second. She placed a hand over her heart as she turned to find her husband and daughter standing in the doorway. She was really going to need to _not_ lose her sense of hearing while she talked to AJ in the future.

"You guys scared the bejesus out of me! Am I going to have to put bells on your necks so I know when you're coming?"

Clark grinned as he took Jordan's coat and let his own slide off. "I don't think that would work for me. People might wonder if Superman had lost his mind, wearing a bell around his neck as he helped people."

"Yeah, well, people are just going to have to deal." She was tempted to stick out her tongue at him, but figured that wouldn't set the best example, Instead, she spoke to Jordan. "How was your day, baby girl? Did grandma make good food for dinner?"

Jordan nodded. "Yeah! She made soup and we had smelly bread to eat with it, then ate a small piece of cake for dessert."

Lois looked up at Clark. "Smelly bread?"

"Garlic bread."

She nodded before looking at Jordan again. "Well, I'm glad you had a good dinner with your grandma." Lois popped one last grape in her mouth before standing up and taking the bowl back to the fridge. The things were starting to get too warm, and that was without the fact that she would eat them all after much longer. She turned and looked at Clark again. "So, do we just want to scrounge for dinner?"

"I'm sure I could find something to throw together if you wanted something more than a few sandwiches or the like."

"Nah, that's alright. Seems like a good night for keeping things informal." Lois looked to Jordan again, and scowled playfully. "Here's a question: why haven't I gotten a hug yet? I like to get one whenever you get home at night!"

Jordan ran over and jumped into Lois's arms, and she pulled the little girl up into the hug.

"I love Almond Joy too, mommy."

Lois looked at Jordan. "What?"

"Daddy and I heard you talking. You said you love Almond Joy, and I love him too."

Lois smiled and placed a soft kiss on Jordan's head before letting it go back to resting on her shoulder. She couldn't believe how much those few words from Jordan had made her so happy. Jesus, she felt tears starting to form. Damn hormones. It was just about the best thing she'd ever heard, though.

"I know you do, Jordan. And AJ loves you too, though it may be a while before he is able to say it. And if he is more like your father than he is like me, then it may be a little longer than that, but he loves you as much as you love him."

"I think I was just insulted. Kind of. Maybe."

She glanced over to Clark, about to explain, but the grin he wore belied his statement as good natured. She went ahead with her explanation anyway. "You know that I am much more prone to the gift of gab, Smallville. As such, I say how soon and how often our son talks will probably be a good indicator of whom he takes after more."

"I can't argue that, at least not with Jordan as an example. She spoke early and she spoke often. You had her singing Frère Jacques at a very early age."

Lois racked her brain, trying to remember the song. When it finally popped into her head, she frowned; she'd heard it a few times over the years but it had never really meant anything to her. "Why that song?"

He shrugged. "You never gave a reason why, just started using it once and didn't stop until you forgot."

Lois looked back down at Jordan. "You liked Frère Jacques, eh?" She nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Want to sing it?" Again there was nodding, and the two of them broke out into song as Lois walked over to the couch and sat them down. With Jordan singing along, it was a much better song than she remembered.


	52. Chapter 52

---- Chapter 52

"All right baby girl, time for your bath."

Jordan started getting wiggly and trying to work her way out of the position she'd taken in Lois's arms. Lois simply rolled her eyes and smiled. "You're not getting out of this, Jordan, much like you don't get out of it any other night."

"But I'm not dirty, mommy!"

"You spent the day on a farm, baby girl. Trust mommy on this one: you're dirty." When the little girl didn't let up in her wiggling attempts to escape, Lois decided to break out the big guns. "Am I going to have to tickle you all the way into the bathtub?"

"No! No bath!"

Lois shook her head a second before attacking, fingers finding her daughter's numerous ticklish areas. The wiggling didn't stop, but the protests turned into giggles and Lois soon had Jordan thrown over her shoulder, one hand continuing the assault off and on as she walked them to the bathroom. She put her down on the bath mat, the giggles quickly turning into a mope.

Had she not known better, she would have sworn she was looking at Clark, because she'd seen that face on him a million times in the past. She turned on the water and started pulling clothes off of her, receiving little in the way of resistance or help. Soon after, she'd plopped the little girl down in the middle of the bathtub.

"See? Not so bad."

Jordan took up playing with some of her bath toys and appeared to be doing her best to ignore Lois.

Rolling her eyes, Lois grabbed the cup on the side of the tub and filled it with water. Kneeling next to the tub, she tilted Jordan's head back a little before pouring the water through her hair. She did it once more before stopping for a moment to get Jordan's body all soaped up and rinsing her off. Grabbing the shampoo, she lathered it into her hair softly, filled the cup with water again and rinsed Jordan's hair out.

A moment later, she pulled Jordan out of the tub and toweled her off for a couple minutes before hefting her up on a hip, wrapped in the towel, and walking into her room. Lois put her down on the bed before grabbing some underwear and pajamas for her to put on. She handed them to Jordan, who liked to put her own clothes on these days.

A couple minutes and a fixed backwards pajama top later, they walked out of the room hand in hand and sat down on the couch together.

"Will you tell me a story, mommy?"

Lois looked down at Jordan, smiling. "Sure. Do you have one you want to hear?"

"Will you make up a new one for me?"

She chewed on her lip a second before shrugging. So far, denying Jordan what she wanted seemed to be a soft spot for her. Hell, her entire daughter was a soft spot for her. Demanding little rascal, though, wanting a new story made up for her. Weren't the classics good enough anymore?

"Okay, well... yeah, I think this can be done." She paused a second and took a deep breath. "Years and years ago, there was a girl. She liked to show the world a strong face and was determined not to let the world dictate how she would live her life. She enjoyed herself for a long time, and then she met a guy.

"Now, this isn't your typical love story, Jordan. It has all the markings of typical, because the girl couldn't stand the guy when they first met. They did things together out of necessity, and really it was against her will that they started getting along and became friends. But he had a tendency to be annoying and he really needed a personality transplant."

"What does that mean?"

Lois frowned a second before speaking again. "Well, it means that the man had a tendency to always see the negative in his life, and he needed to change. He needed to see that the good in his life outweighed the bad. It's a common problem, really, and the girl hated it. She didn't understand it, because she always thought about the now, about doing her best at the moment. Well, except for an unfortunate stint selling coffee and muffins, but everybody has bumps in the road."

"Will I?"

Pulling Jordan close, she leaned over and placed a kiss on her head. "Not if I have any say in it, you won't. I will always be there to try and help you and AJ avoid the bumps in life, even if they're bumps you _can't_ avoid."

Jordan looked up at her. "Like what?"

"Well, I don't know. As awesome as your mom is, baby girl, she can't see the future. Much like the girl in the story, actually, who didn't think about the future a lot. The option that was best for her in the present was the best option for her, she always thought, and it got her into trouble a few times. Well, more than a few. Fortunately, the guy was helpful and could help her out of situations, even if she didn't actually need help."

Lois looked up as she heard Clark scoff. He walked out of their bedroom and plopped down in a chair. "Jeez, Smallville, I hadn't even realized you weren't in the room anymore."

"Now that's love."

"_Anyway_," Lois said as she rolled her eyes and looked back to Jordan, "the girl and the guy grew close. They were very good friends. After some time, they admitted that they were in love. But there was a problem."

"What problem, mommy?"

What problem indeed. What could she sub in for memory loss? "You see, every time the guy and the girl got too close to one another, the girl started sneezing and couldn't stop."

"Was the guy's name Shelby, Lo?"

She shot him a glare before continuing the story, though now that he mentioned it, this did seem to the lesser known story of Lois and Shelby at the moment. Jordan was probably too young for the guy to get hit by a car.

"What had happened was the guy had been infected by something. They finally figured out what it was, though really it was the girl that figured it out, and they lived happily ever after."

"Good story mom..." Jordan didn't get to complete her sentence as she yawned once, then followed it immediately with one of equal size.

Clark stood and walked across the room, sweeping Jordan up into his arms. "Since your mom bathed you tonight, I guess that means I have the good fortune of seeing you go to sleep." All he got in response was a head laid down on his shoulder. He looked down at her. "Would mom like to join us?"

Lois smiled and pushed herself up off the couch. "Yes, she would."

They walked together into Jordan's room, getting her situated under the covers then laying down on top of them, both on a side of her. Lois ran her hand gently across Jordan's back as she fell asleep, smiling at Clark as she did so. How had she gotten so lucky as to end up with all of this?

She smiled a little bit more when AJ kicked, and out of habit pulled Clark's hand over and placed it on the spot she'd felt him. When he kicked again, Clark's eyes widened a bit and he broke out into a smile. Lois returned it full on, knowing just how happy he felt at feeling AJ kick for the first time.

If such a thing as a perfect moment had existed for Lois, this probably would have been it. She was laying in bed with a husband she loved, a daughter that she loved beyond words and her husband was feeling their son kick for the first time. There was no bad to be found, just happiness, and she didn't want it to end.

It did, though, when she saw Clark's eyes get their faraway look. She sighed and gently got off the bed as he did so as well, following him out to the hallway. He stopped and turned around, smiling at her for a second before pulling her into the softest toe curling kiss she could imagine. And then he was gone.

Biting her lip, she shook her head. That was SO not fair. He couldn't just get her engine revving and then leave it sitting in idle! She shook her head again at the stupid car metaphor and padded through the apartment and into their bedroom, where she grabbed the diary before walking back into the living room. She placed herself down on the couch before flipping the thing open and getting to the next entry.

December 25, 2018

Merry Christmas, whenever you are.

The holiday's have gone by in a Superman style blur. Jordan's had her first Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas now, and even though she won't remember it, I will. Well, I will as long as I get to keep my memory. I'm not putting my annoyed growl into words, but you know what it sounds like.

These are the types of things that have become extremely important to me. The special days with Jordan, Clark and the rest of our family. It makes me think back to when I could remember, all those holidays that just got glossed over with a quick dinner with the General and a call to Lucy. I never knew what I didn't have. I never knew just how special a holiday could be until I spent it with family.

For Halloween, we dressed up Jordan in a Wonder Woman outfit. I think Diana got a kick out of it when we saw her, but don't quote me on that. I don't think she's ever been all that pleased by people making a buck off her costume. I enjoyed getting to dress Jordan up, though (there's something that I couldn't have seen coming), and I especially enjoyed munching on all the candy we picked up for her.

On a side note, I JUST got back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Let me tell you, it is not an easy thing to do when you have holiday after holiday following having a baby. Halloween wasn't too bad, because we didn't get a ton of candy for Jordan, considering she couldn't eat it. Thanksgiving was the usual, though. I gorged myself on turkey for days at the Wayne Manor, and forsook the workout program I'd been doing every day. Bad Lois.

About a week ago I was back to normal weight and feeling good about it, so of course today I probably packed on ten pounds with all the food that was available to me. Clark ate as much as I did, though, so I don't feel like a total pig, even if he has seven or eight inches and a hundred plus pounds on me.

So, back on track, Thanksgiving at Chloe's place was great. Jordan already liked to fly by that point, and she did her best to be the best baby ever while we were in Gotham. She slept through the night, wasn't excessively smelly at any point and decided to smile at whoever was holding her. Precious. I've never liked affixing that word to a person, because I always think of a rich woman talking to her poodle, but that's what it was.

And holy cow, the first time she smiled, I mean really smiled at me...

Throughout my pregnancy, I promised myself I wouldn't be one of those women that melted at her baby's every first. I promised myself that I wouldn't fall to a million happy pieces whenever something happened for the first time and could be construed as a minor milestone.

I broke that promise. Everything she's done since the day she was born has had me enamored with her even more. She's so crazy cute that it hurts sometimes. But the first time she smiled at me may have been the most ridiculous happy I've ever had. I couldn't control myself. I blubbered so many happy tears that I could barely see the smile anymore. It was nuts. _I_ was nuts.

Anyway...

That brings us to today, Christmas (which doesn't start in July, as we once theorized it would by this year, though it does start around Halloween). We're at the Wayne Manor again, since it has enough space to fit everybody. We got up early, since Jack is getting to the years where waking up early to see what Santa brought him. Let me just say that the boy got quite a haul, as did the girls, who turned one at the beginning of the month.

Of course, Jordan was no slouch in the presents department. Martha knitted a blanket for her, which is seven kinds of gorgeous. It's blue, tinged with red and yellow at the edges. Can't imagine where she got the color scheme. Chloe and her family gave her some pillows and various stuffed animals. Clark and I gave her the best present of all, though: love.

God, that was lame. Clark level cheesiness. Had I known his brand of crazy was infectious, well, I'd have married him anyway, but I'd have gotten some immunizations.

Looking at this diary entry, I notice that I can't seem to stay on the topic at hand. Of course, the topic at hand always seems to change these days. My life is no longer really about me anymore. The things that fulfilled me the most six months ago almost pale in comparison to what I get out of being with Jordan. I still enjoy them, but they just don't make me as happy as they used to.

It took until I had started going into the Planet with more frequency that I really noticed how much things had changed. That makes sense, since what I once got the most pleasure out of (not including Clark) was writing the stories and bringing wrongs out into the open. When I started doing that again with Jordan by my side... I still got the fulfillment, but it just didn't do it for me the same way it used to.

You'd think that I'd be upset about this. I tried to be upset about it. Then I looked at my daughter and saw her sucking a thumb, or just looking at me, and I didn't care. I don't know if that makes me a bad career minded woman, and if it does, I don't care.

Right now, what I find the most happiness in is my daughter. My family, really, because I wouldn't have my baby girl without Clark. Without him, I wouldn't have all this happiness that I grasp onto so firmly now. The man has dashed the bad dreams of a lonely future for me, and I don't know if I will ever be able to tell him just how much that means to me.

Of course, he sees the same thing in our me and our family. To him, I am what came between him and the nightmare of a long life alone with himself, which admittedly sounds dreadful.

It's funny, really, how two people could have such a similar fear when they approached life in such different manners for so long, that had such different upbringings. Leave it to me to think like an intergalactic traveler (of course, millions of people have the same fear, but you know how much we like to feel unique).

Wasn't this entry supposed to be about the holidays? I know when I started writing this I had set out to preserve Jordan's first holiday season in writing so that I would always know it, if not remember it. As many things do these days, it's turned into a festival of mushiness that centers around my daughter.

(If the year is like 2046 and you're reading this, Jordan, I love you, but you turned me into a sentimental sap even more than your father did. And to any other children I may have had, I'm sure you did the same thing. Mommy is not amused. I love you anyway.)

Of course, I guess that's what it's really all about. Love. Love for my daughter. Love for my husband. Love for my cousin and her family. Love for Martha. Love for my own father and sister. I wouldn't have a life if I didn't have the love of all these people. Hell, I probably would have worked myself to death by now had I not had these people in my life. They take care of me.

I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but I like being taken care of. While I loved being the one that took care of everybody when I was younger, it feels good sometimes to have people around me that I can lean on when I need to instead of making myself rigid against the storm of life. Reading that, if that's what my articles are like, why do people read this drivel?

Bad metaphors aside, life is good. We've covered the personal, so lets talk business.

Clark hasn't had any major stuff to prevent or stop recently, which is welcome. There's the usual run of idiots that think they'll be the ones that get away from Superman and still try to rob banks or knock over a gas station, but for the most part the city has been quiet for the holidays. Yay for that.

Of course, with the slow in the city, Clark and I have been able to focus on a longer investigation rather than the quick stuff. We've been doing a piece on Intergang that we think has serious potential to damage their infrastructure. There's some compelling evidence and whatnot that we've laid our hands on and quite possibly more to come. Yay for us.

I expect to get the story printed in mid to late January since I'm sure this lull in criminal activity won't last. Here's hoping, though.

And there are the cries of a hungry baby. My hungry baby, expecting some dinner. How ridiculous is that?

(Just ridiculous enough.)

Lois smiled, knowing a little bit what she'd felt like back then. Of course, instead of having to wait to see her daughter smile, she'd walked out of a room to a smiling, giggle prone three year old. But still, that first smile...

Stupid memory robbing her of the moments she needed. She's a mother; she should get to remember what her children did and when!

Shaking off her annoyance, Lois flipped the page in the diary and started reading again.

February 12, 2019

I don't know why I'm writing today. I shouldn't be writing, really. I'm not in any shape to put words on paper. Hell, I'm not in any shape to do anything but hold Jordan close and kiss her cheek four or five times an hour. It's one of the more comforting acts I can do right now. It assures me that there's still happiness, that everything hasn't totally gone to shit.

Clark is missing. God, writing it makes my heart hurt. He went out to meet with a source yesterday and never came back to the Planet. I've been in that situation before, but Clark is pretty kidnap proof. Unless they know who he is, and what his weakness is.

But how could they? I mean, Lex has been investigating Superman since the day he showed up and he's never figured it out. Hell, I tried to figure it out for a little while until I was told by the man himself. But if they do know who he is and how to weaken him...

They have to know, really. I used the bracelet when he didn't return and there hadn't been any Superman sightings. He was in pain. The pain hasn't stopped since then, at least not while I've had the bracelet on.

What I have to wonder is whether or not this has anything to do with Intergang. Clark and I printed the article I talked about in the December entry a week and a half ago, and it screwed up that organization pretty thoroughly. Their business was strongly affected, at least according to a couple of my sources.

Superman also targeted them recently, but that didn't really have anything to do with the article. They had just increased activity and it warranted some Superman type attention to keep the problem from getting too out of hand.

I just... I don't know what to do. I'm always the one that is kidnapped, not Clark. But I don't even know if he was really kidnapped or if Superman went to make a save and was hurt, or captured or something else equally traumatic to his well being.

I'm going out of my mind trying to figure out what I can do to help things along, but at the same time I'm trying to take care of a daughter that seems to realize her dad is in trouble. The two of them have always seemed to have a connection, but I've just thought it was their happy disposition (I wonder if there's ever been a baby with a mopey disposition... question for another time).

And speaking of said daughter, she's taken to crying for her father again. It's taking me a good half hour to get her calmed down at times, longer than it did when she was a newborn. Unfortunately, I feel the same way she does. Maybe she's just picking up on my worry, who knows, but we're both stressed out and just want Clark back.

What the hell? If she'd ever had panicked writing before, that was it! Her handwriting was never anything to write home about, but it had always been neat enough and had even acquired a little bit of a flowing look to it. This... this was half a step above chicken scratch.

Hopefully there wasn't much in the way of stories between Jordan being born and what was going on February 12th, 2019. For once, it seemed events were going to line themselves up between flashback and diary.

Now when the hell was her husband getting back? Apparently Clark getting called away when she wanted him around for a story or an activity was something she was going to have to get used to. She didn't like it. She didn't like it one bit.

An hour later, Lois was reading when Clark came in through the balcony door. She sat the book down and stood up.

"How'd it go?"

He shrugged. "As well as a hostage situation ever goes. It took a little while, but the situation was resolved. A woman got grazed by a bullet in all the turmoil."

"Is she going to be alright?"

"Yeah. Just needed some stitches."

Lois nodded, then started thinking about the diary. She'd already been in a situation where she didn't know where he was or if he was alright. Just thinking about it sent shivers up her spine. Before she gave it another thought, she walked over and wrapped her arms around Clark. She felt him do the same before she laid her head against him, sighing at the feel of his muscles. It made her feel safe.

"I love a good hug as much as the next guy, but this seems out of the blue. What's going on?"

"Nothing," she mumbled against his chest. "I just like hugging you. Must be a side effect of the falling in love you dosed me with."

"Second best side effect ever."

She looked up at him. "What's the best?"

"The you wanting to take advantage of me at all hours of the day."

Rolling her eyes, Lois attempted to push herself away but found herself still surrounded by arms of steel. She looked up at him. "You are such a guy."

"I hope so, else I've spent a lot of years as part of the wrong gender."

"I can attest to some physical aspects of your gender... or would that be your sex..."

"Speaking of..." Clark leaned down and kissed her lightly on the corner of her mouth, causing her to break out in a wide smile.

"Well, I guess I can't bring it up and not help you out with making sure you've been classified correctly all these years." Lois stood up on her toes and kissed him the same way he had her, and very quickly melted into him.

Yeah, he was all man, and Lois was really happy that he was all hers.


	53. Chapter 53

---- Chapter 53

"When's Christmas, Smallville?"

"December 25th."

Lois tossed her notepad on her desk and frowned at him as he kept his face buried in a folder she didn't recognize. "You're hilarious, you know that? How about this question: what's today's date?"

"December 15th."

"Ten days? We haven't even gotten anything for Jordan yet! I don't even know what she wants! Did she make a list? Jesus, my first Christmas as a mom and I'm totally dropping the ball. I knew this would happen, and when she starts school I'll probably forget about picking her up every day and she's going to be all alone and hate ma and oh my God I am a horrible mother!"

Lois buried her hands in her face and felt like she could bawl for days. She felt Clark pull her up out of her chair and wrap her up in a hug, which she wasn't ashamed to admit she really needed. God, where the hell had that eve come from? She thought she'd moved past the horrible mom stuff. Freakin' hormones!

"You are not, and never will be, a horrible mother."

"Did you not just hear me explain everything?"

"First off, Jordan wants what every three year old wants for Christmas: toys. Second, you're not dropping the ball. Third, you will never forget our child at school because you never forget anything about Jordan. That's something that losing your memory didn't affect. Fourth, and most importantly, you are a great mother. The end. No arguments."

"But..."

"You always like to argue when I say no arguments. That doesn't change with the memory loss either."

He pushed her away after a second and she looked up at him. He was smiling and she felt the tension start draining out of her. Why did he have such a calming effect on her? She took a couple deep breaths and stood up a little straighter, making herself focus on the fact that she'd been raising her daughter for a month and a couple days, that she remembered, and no physical or mental harm had come to her.

"Ok. Yeah, sorry, guess I hadn't gotten all of my freak outs about being a mom out of my system."

"It's all right, Lo. The same happened when you forgot last time and were much more frequent because you didn't have the actual child to prove that you weren't screwing her up."

She smiled at him. "Yeah, she does kind of help. I don't know how I got through the anxiety last time." He leaned down and kissed her softly, making her smile even more when he pulled away. "That probably helped things."

"I like to think so. So, feel better?"

"Yes. I'm sane again, all thanks to you." Lois looked down at her expanded stomach. "You, however, are making my crazy become visible for others to see. Usually I can hold my crazy on the inside, but all the hormones? Killing me, AJ. You are most definitely your father's son, because until you, he was the only one that made me this insane."

"She's right, AJ. She was never quite so vocally insane, even when she was pregnant with your sister. Good job, son."

Lois looked back up at Clark, an eyebrow raised as he smirked at her. "What?"

"Your goading our son into causing me to be crazy aside, is what you said true?"

"You are a little crazier this time, yes. I doubt it has anything to do with AJ, in truth, and just with what's going on around you. You did wake up at a somewhat hectic time of year."

"God do I hope you're right. If I'm this crazy now, I will be unbearable by the time nine months rolls around. For you and me. I don't like it any more than the next person."

Lois sat back down in her chair and watched Clark walk around and sit back down in his chair. "Call me crazy, but I like you crazy. Sane is very overrated and not at all exciting."

"And here I thought I had married a guy that had learned to handle my crazy. Apparently he fell in love with it, too."

"I kind of had to. If I hadn't, your crazy would have driven me crazy. Some would say that's really all love and marriage is: finding the right kind of crazy that matches your own personal brand of crazy and making sure the two mesh well. We mesh very, very well"

Lois grinned in spite or herself and the ridiculous statement Clark had just made. Unfortunately, she also found merit in it and thought it as good an explanation for love as anything she'd ever tried to think of. She'd never had nearly as much success in her descriptions of love as she had in describing what a criminal had done. Love did tend to be more abstract, though.

"All meshing aside, what are we going to get our daughter for Christmas?"

"I think I told you this once, but we were thinking of getting her a cat. Of course, what I assume that means is we'll be getting ourselves a cat and Jordan will play with it every once in a while. I think that can wait until we get into the house, though. Other than that, we can always get her some stuffed animals and new coloring books. The usual stuff for a three year old girl, or so I assume since these are the kinds of things Aly and Liz got."

Lois shrugged. She didn't remember Christmas from when she was three, so she couldn't really say what she liked back in the day. Man that was a long time ago, now. How did she ever get to thirty five years old?

"We're old."

"How unfortunate for us."

Lois looked over at him. "I'm serious! I'm thirty five, you're thirty four... I think." She shrugged and sighed. "We're officially old."

"No, we're officially in our thirties. Old is when there's gray hair and slow driving."

"Hey, you got one out of two. You drive like an old guy these days, Smallville. And me, well, thirty five is virtually forty, and forty is virtually fifty. Therefore, I'm virtually fifty!"

She watched as Clark shook his head and sighed before pushing his glasses up on his nose. "You're really having a jump to conclusions kind of day, aren't you? What brought all this on?"

Lois smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "I don't know. I just feel like I haven't been as on the ball as I should be about things. I've had people pointing out details I missed that I really should have gotten and just lacking the concentration I normally have. I guess I could blame pregnancy brain, but it seems like a bit of a copout. Not because it's fake, but because I feel like I should be better than that."

"I'm sorry, Lo, but apparently you're just another run of the mill pregnant woman. Also, missing little things here and there isn't the end of the world so long as everything makes sense and it doesn't make or break the article." He paused and frowned. "Well, that would be a big deal, but that's why you have me here."

"Yeah, well, when our readers read a story and find things in there that you don't, you let me know how it feels."

"Ok, how about a distraction? I'm sure a flashback could take your mind off of things."

"What comes next?"

Clark frowned after a second. "Well, it'd be a really sad and painful story from my point of view. Plus, Chloe would know what you were up to at the time because I was kind of... indisposed."

Ah ha. So, she finally got to hear about the mystery that was the February 12th, 2019. She picked up her phone and dialed Chloe's extension. It wouldn't have killed her to walk the few feet, but she felt like being lazy.

"Chloe's desk."

"Hey cuz, very professional answer. Wanna tell me a story?"

"I've never been the most formal person, so sue me if I like to say Chloe's desk. How about we do the story tonight? I'm a bit swamped at the moment, and I'm sure you guys have work to do."

"Eh, nothing at the moment, but tonight sounds good. What time do you want us?"

"Umm... 7:30. Bruce and I will whip something up so that we don't have to send Clark on a food run... well, not a planned food run. Who knows what you or I will want to eat this evening, right?"

"Right. See you tonight."

Lois placed the phone down again and sat back in her chair. "Dinner at Chloe's tonight, 7:30."

"Am I on food detail?"

"Only the unplanned sort. Chloe said that she and Bruce would whip something up. Who knows what that means."

Lois tried not to let her eyes go wide at the food spread out on the table before her. As it was, she couldn't stop her eyebrows from climbing up her forehead as she scanned everything in front of her. This was whipping something up? There were crazy amounts of food on the table!

"Chloe, you left work two hours ago. How did you guys get all this done? It takes me longer to make an edible salad!"

Her cousin grinned at her as she grabbed a plate and handed it to her. "What can I say? Bruce is actually a very good cook, and quick, too."

"Well, didn't you just hit the jackpot in the husband slots."

"One could say that, yes. Same goes for you."

Lois looked over her shoulder as she watched Clark help Jordan with deciding what she wanted to eat first. Apparently macaroni and cheese won out because she scooped some onto her face as though she had a mouth where her nose was. Well, some of it got in her mouth on the rebound, though she couldn't decide if that was a good thing. She shook her head and looked back to Chloe as Clark started to wipe some of the stuff off of Jordan's face.

"The same does go for me." Lois started piling some meat onto her plate and felt AJ kick when she reached for the salad forks. Looking down at her stomach a second, she rolled her eyes and stepped away from the leafy foods.

"What would you say the odds are of my son already disliking salad, Chlo?"

"Pretty much nothing, Lo. I don't think your son has actually developed tastes for anything yet."

"Yeah, I guess it was coincidence that he kicked as soon as I reached for the salad. With Clark as his father, though, I'm a little afraid to completely discount anything as not possible. In utero awareness may just be a special power of half kryptonian babies on Earth. And now that I am aware of what I'm saying, I think I need a distraction from my own mind. Story?"

"Story it is. It was a stormy night, February 14th of the year 2019..."

"Are you in some old movie or something?"

"Sorry. Normally worded version it is."

---

_Chloe sighed as she sat on the couch, waiting for Lois to come out of Jordan's room. She'd just quieted down a few minutes before for nearly the first time all day, and it had been the same way the day before. When Clark hadn't showed up again the night of the 12__th__, she'd flown to Metropolis the next morning and found her cousin and her niece extremely upset by what was going on._

_Standing up, Chloe walked over to Lois and Clark's room and looked in, finding the twins sleeping soundly on the bed. She smiled softly as Aly turned over and started sucking on her thumb. She watched them for another minute before closing the door and walking back over to the couch and plopping down._

_Chloe looked over when she heard footsteps and found Lois walking out to the living room, pulling a hand through her hair as she sighed. _

"_I hate this, Chloe. This isn't supposed to happen."_

"_I know, Lois. The whole of the Justice League is looking for him, though, so he's going to be found. They're the best at this type of thing. You know first hand how good they are."_

"_Yeah, well, they haven't found him yet, have they? God, I feel so useless! Just sitting here isn't getting anything done, it's not finding him. All I can do is put on the stupid bracelet and find out that he's still hurt."_

"_That's better than knowing nothing at all."_

_Lois flopped down on the couch next to Chloe, frowning at the room as she crossed her arms. "Barely. It's a tease, basically. It's like finding something that you really, really want is just out of reach. I don't like it when things are out of reach, Chloe. It annoys me, especially when it's my injured husband."_

_Chloe watched as she stood up again and started pacing, her frown getting deeper and deeper with every step she took. After a couple minutes she stopped, took a deep breath and walked over to the door where she started slipping her tennis shoes on. Chloe got up off the couch and walked over to her._

"_Hey, where are you going?"_

"_For a drive. I can't just sit around and stew in my own uncertainty anymore, Chlo. I've been doing it for three days now and it's driving me insane. I'll be back... sometime soon." She opened up the front door and took a step out of it before turning back around. "If Jordan wakes up hungry, there are a couple bottles I pumped this morning in the fridge. I'll uh... I'll see you later."_

_Chloe bit her bottom lip as the door closed, annoyed at herself for not having been able to think of anything to say. But what was there to say? Her cousin's husband was missing and they didn't even have any leads on where he could possibly be. It was the damn needle in a haystack, except they didn't even know what haystack to look in._

_She tried to think of what she would do in a situation like this. Bruce had been gone a day or two here and there, but it was always part of what he was doing. He'd never just disappeared, not since they'd gotten together nearly eleven years ago. She walked over and sat on the couch again, sighing as she rested her chin on her hand and start off at nothing._

"_Bruce, it's been four hours since she left and I haven't seen hide nor hair of her since. She hasn't even called to say she's ok. I'm starting to get really worried. It's not exactly a pleasant night out there in terms of weather and I don't know what I would do if she got in an accident."_

_Chloe started pacing again as she switched the phone from one ear to another, then walked over and glanced in Jordan's room to make sure that she was still sleeping soundly. She was, so Chloe went back to pacing in the living room._

"_Chloe, the League is keeping track of police reports in Metropolis, and we haven't heard anything about a car accident in the last fours hours involving the type of car Lois and Clark have. I promise, if I hear anything I will let you know right away."_

"_Thank you, but if I have a choice, I'd prefer Lois just walk in the door right now and tell me that she's alright. It would soothe my aching and jumpy nerves."_

"_I know. I'll be in touch. I love you."_

"_I love you too, Bruce. Oh, and if you ever do this to me, I'm going to let Lois loose on you."_

"_Noted."_

_Chloe hung up and sat back into a slouch. When she'd come to try and help Lois feel more at ease, she didn't think that every hour here would make her more and more nervous about what was going on. She hadn't ever been a person to be overly worried until Jack had come along, and then it was just BAM! Worry over this, worry over that._

_Shaking herself out of her reflection, she grabbed the television remote and turned it on again, flipping to a news station and letting herself get lost in the happenings of the day. It didn't last long though, as her stomach rumbled at her and she realized that she'd skipped dinner along with Lois. _

_Rolling her eyes at herself, she got up off the couch and walked into the kitchen, opening the fridge and scrounging around for a moment before finding some sliced beef. Grabbing the packet, she pulled out a piece and folded it up before taking a big bite out of it. Before she knew it she was working on her third piece and carrying the packet with her out into the living room. Maybe she'd skipped lunch, too._

_Just as she was about to start on another piece, the door flew open and Chloe jumped. Looking over, she spotted a dripping wet Lois backing into the apartment slowly._

"_Lois, where the hell... holy shit!"_

_Chloe dropped her meat onto the coffee table before running over and taking one of Clark's limp arms and helping Lois pull him into the apartment. It felt like she was holding an arm-shaped piece of ice._

"_What happened?"_

"_Later. Help me get him on the couch."_

_They dragged him over and Chloe went to check on the girls, making sure they were still sleeping after the door had banged open, and Lois stripped him and did a once over to make sure there was no residual kryptonite. When she came back, they lifted him up onto the couch and got him covered in blankets. Lois was rubbing her hands over his stomach as Chloe sat down next to her on the coffee table._

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Trying to get his core temperature up. I don't even know what his core temp should be, but I know that it's not warm enough if he feels like ice."_

"_You need to get into some dry clothes, Lois, so that you don't freeze and make me get your core temp up."_

"_Yeah... will you do this until I get back? I want to make sure he keeps getting the warmth." Chloe nodded and started running her hands over his stomach, feeling a little weird about it but just glad to be able to help. Lois wasn't long and came back to where she'd been, starting to do the friction again._

"_Where did you find him?"_

"_The docks. I don't even know why I ended up there, but I did. I don't know what happened, but he'd been stuck in a crate with a piece of kryptonite. The crate was half submerged in the water, but fortunately his head was above it."_

"_Wait, so, you're walking along the docks, see a crate sitting half submerged in the water and just decide to open it and see what's inside?"_

"_Well, uh..." Chloe couldn't make out what she said as Lois mumbled her way through a sentence and stood up, walking out to the kitchen and getting a glass of water before coming back to sit down._

"_Would you like trying to say that again?"_

_Lois sighed before speaking. "Lara spoke to me."_

"_What? How?"_

"_I don't know. I didn't even take the bracelet with me, and before that it's only ever been that first time I put it on anyway. But when I got to the docks and was looking at that crate, her voice filled my head."_

"_What did she say?"_

"'_Your love is the key to keep him strong.' That kind of tipped me off that something had clicked with where he was. When I got inside the crate, he was even colder than when you felt him. I didn't even know if he was alive. His breathing was so slow..." Chloe watched a tear trailed down her cousins face. "I thought he was dead, Chloe. I thought I had lost my husband and Jordan was going to have to grow up without her father like I had without my mother."_

"_But that didn't happen, Lo. You found him, and he's going to be ok."_

"_His heartbeat has barely picked up since when I found him. It's been hours, Chloe. It took so long to get him out of that crate..."_

_Chloe looked at Clark's face for the first time since she'd helped drag him in and noticed that it was a mass of bruises. What had happened to him? She'd been so focused on getting him onto the couch and covered that she hadn't seen if any other part of him was bruised and battered, too, but she wouldn't be surprised._

"_I'm going to call Bruce. He and the League will get this figured out, or at least know of a way for him to heal faster."_

_Lois simply nodded and kept rubbing her hands over his stomach. Chloe got up and walked over to the kitchen pulling her phone out of her pocket before dialing Bruce._

"_We still haven't found him, Chloe."_

"_Lois found him, Bruce. He's here, but he's in bad shape."_

"_We'll be there soon."_

_Five minutes later, Chloe was letting Bruce, Ollie and Diana into the apartment. She wrapped Bruce in a hug for a moment before letting him go to see to Clark. Lois related the story to all of them, only stopping the friction on his stomach when Bruce and Ollie needed to make sure that there was no residual kryptonite with a device that looked like a Geiger counter. Chloe walked over and linked hands with Lois as they watched._

"_Well? Is there anything on him?"_

_Ollie stood up and stood in front of them. "Not that we can see, no. He was exposed to it for days, though, and sitting in very cold water as it happened. I think you've been doing the right thing, and we're just going to have to wait it out like when you were attacked, Lois."_

_As soon as Ollie finished speaking, Chloe heard Jordan start crying in the other room. Lois took a second before standing up and starting towards the room before Chloe caught her. "Let me, Lois. I can make sure she's taken care of while you make sure Clark's alright. You're the key, remember?"_

_Lois nodded after a moment, going back and taking her place at Clark's side again. Chloe walked over into Jordan's room and found the displeased child thrashing against her blankets. Chloe reached into the crib and pulled her out of it, finding her to be sporting her favorite thing: a dirty diaper. She got Jordan changed, though it didn't seem to quiet her down all that much._

"_We found your dad, Jordan. We're going to take good care of him and make sure that he's ok. Don't worry; your dad will always be there for you. He doesn't break his promises. You know what? I bet you're hungry. Why don't we get you a bottle and get you all fed and happy?"_

_Once she had Jordan situated against her shoulder, Chloe walked out into the kitchen and opened up the fridge, finding the bottled milk and popping it into the microwave for twenty seconds. While it was warming up, she looked over at the group of people gathered around Clark. Lois was still sitting on the coffee table, rubbing her hands over Clark's middle while the other three were all discussing what they should do._

_The microwave beeping snapped her out of watching them and she grabbed the bottle. With a couple squirts she tested the warmth and found it perfect, so she got Jordan eating and walked over to the group of people._

"_How's he doing?"_

_Lois was first to respond. "Better, I think, but not good enough." She looked up and found Jordan in Chloe's arms, immediately standing up and walking over to check on her. "How's she doing?"_

_Chloe smiled, knowing what it was like to worry over a young daughter. "She's fine. Diaper changed and with some food she'll be back asleep in an hour, I bet."_

"_Good, good... do you mind if I take her?"_

"_I think I'd be a bad aunt if I kept my niece from her mother." Chloe transferred Jordan over into her mother's arms, and Chloe saw the calming effect immediately. A good bit of the tension drained out of her shoulders. _

"_It's all going to be okay, baby girl. Mommy isn't going to let anything bad happen to you and she's going to make sure your dad is healthy again real soon." Chloe watched Lois bend her neck and place a soft kiss on Jordan's forehead. Jordan looked like she was already starting to fall back asleep, and when Lois pulled the bottle away, her eyes closed fully and she was out like a light._

"_Wow. She hasn't gone to sleep that quickly since I got here."_

"_She hasn't fallen asleep that quickly since Clark went missing." Lois walked away and a second later came out of Jordan's room, leaving the door halfway open as she walked back to everybody. "I'm going to the Fortress."_

"_What?"_

"_Lara, Jor-El, whoever I speak to there has to know something about helping him heal more quickly than he is. Maybe it'll be quicker in eight hours when the sun comes up, but I'm not going to bank on that just yet. Therefore, I need information."_

"_I'm going with you, cuz."_

"_Chloe, I think you should..."_

"_You think I should go with you because you've barely slept in days and need somebody to drive you. You're liable to fall asleep halfway there."_

"_It would be quicker if you flew."_

_Chloe looked over at Bruce. "It'll take basically the same time to get the jet fueled and ready to fly to Smallville as it will to just get on the road and be halfway there. It's a nice thought, though."_

"_I can have a helicopter fueled and waiting for you two at the private airfield in fifteen minutes."_

"_Bruce, that'd be perfect." Chloe watched Lois grab her jacket and pull it on before walking over to her room and walking out with the bracelet in hand. "You ready, Chlo?"_

_She nodded as she grabbed her coat off the hook and followed Lois to the door. She stopped suddenly as Lois turned around and looked past her. "There's milk in the fridge if Jordan is hungry, and Bruce, you can handle anything else. Ollie, Diana... watch and learn, he's really good at being a dad."_

"_I second that." Chloe grinned for what felt like the first time since she'd gotten to Metropolis and followed Lois out of the apartment._

"_Put it down here!"_

_Chloe peeled the headset off as the helicopter touched down a couple hundred yards from the entrance to the caves. Waiting as Lois got out, she ducked low and jumped out of the chopper, staying low until she got past the blades and following Lois as she jogged to what they both hoped was going to be a way to get Clark better quickly._

_They entered the cave and walked up to the wall where the opening had always been to transport Clark to the fortress. They just stood there for a moment, and Chloe looked over at Lois._

"_So, uh, what's the plan?"_

"_I didn't get that far."_

"_Well, that certainly makes this more interesting. Try putting the bracelet on."_

"_I did think THAT far ahead, Chloe." Lois slipped it on, then frowned and started fidgeting_. _"That's not good."_

"_What's not good?"_

"_I'm barely getting anything out of the bracelet. Just a sense of pain, but not like it was when he was in the crate with the kryptonite. It's vague." Chloe watched her look up at the wall. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do here, Lara! You've gotta cut me some slack! I need to find out how to help him!"_

_They both watched the wall for a minute and nothing happened. "Come on! I need help to keep Kal-El alive! I'm his true one, soul mate, whatever! Let me in so I can find a way to help him, damn it!"_

_After a second, the wall started opening up and Chloe let out a relieved sigh. "Never let it be said that yelling can't solve anything, at least not where Lois Lane Kent is involved apparently."_

"_Damn right." She reached over and linked hands with Chloe, and Chloe gave a reassuring squeeze before they stepped into the light._

_The next thing she knew, it was a lot colder than it had been. She should have brought a better coat. Stupid warm weather in February had screwed her over for going to the arctic. She felt Lois' hand slip out of hers as she walked over to a control console and mess with a couple crystals, and Chloe quickly felt the place warm up._

_When her teeth stopped banging against each other, Chloe actually was able to shed her jacket. "Where did you learn to do that?"_

"_Clark and I have come up here a couple times and he figured I should at least know how to work the heat, for just such an occasion. He's pretty good about that kind of things." She paused a second before looking up and around at the fortress. "Jor-El! Lara! I need your help! Kal-El needs your help!"_

_Chloe watched Lois jump back as a form started to appear next to the control console and she moved over to stand next to her. The woman that appeared was beautiful, garbed in a flowing white gown. Dark hair tumbled down her back and she was almost the exact same height as Lois._

"_Hello, Lois Lane Kent."_

"_He's hurt, Lara, and I need a way to help him. He was exposed to Kryptonite for days, and he was freezing and barely alive when I found him. Is there anything here that can help him?"_

"_Your love is the key."_

_Chloe frowned and looked over at Lois, who looked like she was going to hit something._

"_That's it? That's all you have for me? I've heard that already!"_

"_His strength depends on you. His survival depends on you. Your love is the key."_

"_That is NOT helpful! Isn't there a healing crystal that I can use to help him recover from his injuries? That seems like something you and your husband would have included in this giant igloo!"_

"_Your love is the key."_

"_F-ck the cryptic statements, Lara! I need to help my husband to survive! Give me something, anything that I can use to help him, please!"_

"_His survival depends on you. Your love is the key." The image shimmered and faded away, and a second later a bright light engulfed them and Chloe found herself and her cousin back in the caves._

_She watched Lois pull the bracelet off her arm before turning and walking towards the cave entrance. Chloe followed silently, not knowing what to say. Her love was the key? What the hell did that mean? If Lois loving Clark would heal him, it seemed like he should have been up and about by now._

_An hour later they walked back into the apartment and Lois walked straight to Clark, kneeling next to him. Chloe walked over and stood next to Bruce a second before leaning into him and sighing at the instant comfort she felt. _

"_How'd it go?"_

"_It went. Turns out Lara is just as into the cryptic sayings as Jor-El always used to be, except that his made more sense."_

"_What can we do?"_

"_Nothing. Her love is the key."_


	54. Chapter 54

---- Chapter 54

"This is another one of those stories that would be more compelling if I didn't know that Clark ended up being alright."

"I like to think that it still has some tension in it, even if you do know that everything works out in the end."

Lois nodded, taking a bite of mashed potatoes and swallowing before she continued on. "Have you guys ever considered not telling me a story because it wasn't really necessary?"

"Nope. How would that be fair to you?"

"Good to hear. Alright, on with the story."

"I only have a little bit left. Then it's all Clark."

---

_Chloe walked back into the living room and sat down in a chair, finding Lois still sitting next to Clark on the couch. The big piece of furniture had been moved to face the outer wall of the apartment, where light was flooding into the room through its numerous windows. She and Lois had made sure to get every bit of sunlight they could into the room, hoping that it would help him heal more quickly._

_It had been a much quieter day since Bruce had taken the twins home when he left the night before, and she really wasn't sure why she had brought them along in the first place. Well, that wasn't true. They liked being with their mom, and she loved being with them, but it just created more chaos than necessary._

_Lois had taken to not moving a whole lot more than she needed to since they'd gotten back from the caves. She'd had fallen asleep with her head laid on Clark's chest from sheer exhaustion, having dragged him who knows how far at the docks and going to the fortress to make it a completely unbelievable night. _

_Clark's breathing was steadier than it had been when she'd finally fallen asleep in her chair watching Lois, and his pulse was stronger, but other than that there hadn't been any visible change. He still didn't seem like he was anywhere near consciousness, unfortunately._

"_How's he doing?"_

"_Hanging in there. He knows that if he quits on me and Jordan, there will be hell to pay."_

_Chloe smiled, then sighed, sinking back into the chair as Lois just sat next to Clark, never taking her eyes off of him. She was taking the fact that Lara said her love was the key very literally. Bathroom breaks and food made her feel like she was too far from him. Jordan was still getting plenty of attention from her mother, but when they were together they were never more than five feet from Clark._

_As if on cue, Chloe heard Jordan start fussing in her room. "Do you want me to get her, Lois?"_

"_No, I'll get her. Thanks, though." Chloe nodded and watched Lois get up and walk into Jordan's room. _

_She wished there was more that she could do to help. She didn't really feel like she was serving any purpose at this point, because Lois was still doing all of the stuff Jordan needed. She couldn't really do anything to help Clark, at least not that she knew of, because her love wasn't the key. Plus, she probably had the wrong kind of love for him or something._

_She glanced over as Lois walked back out, talking quietly to Jordan as she sat down in the chair she'd moved close to the couch. After a minute Lois had Jordan nursing, and let her head lean back._

"_Do you think Jordan helps, Chloe?"_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_She's half me, so if my love is the key, she has to be able to help some. That's why I always bring her out here with me. I want every bit of love near him that I can get, and if there's anybody that loves Clark more than I do, it might be this little girl that's attached to my boob at the moment."_

"_I'm not going to argue against it. It can't hurt for her to be out here, and even with him unconscious, it reassures her. She's been much more calm since you found him."_

"_Right." Lois let her head go back down and looked at Jordan. "So, what do you say, baby girl? Want to help mommy make daddy better by loving him? I know you can do it. You can do anything, because you're your father's daughter. You're going to be something special."_

"_That goes for being your mother's daughter too, Jordan. She's just as special as your father is, in her own kind of way."_

"_Don't listen to a word your aunt Chloe says about me. Her opinions are colored by the fact that I've survived being me. I don't want you to have to survive being like me. I want you to live by being yourself. Now, if you've inherited my personality, well, I'm sorry. Here's hoping your father's genes are strong enough to keep mine in line."_

_Chloe grinned and watched Lois lift Jordan up, burp her and offer another drink only to have it refused. She laid her down on Clark's stomach as she buttoned her shirt back up. "Since you appear to be full, I think you should spend some quality time with your dad. He may not be as energetic as usual, but I have a sneaking suspicion that you're going to get drowsy and conk out in a few minutes. Trust me, his chest is a great place to fall asleep." _

_She leaned over and kissed Jordan light before sitting back to watch her. True to her suspicion, a few minutes later Chloe saw that Jordan's eyes were drooping and she was soon sleeping, her head resting on her dad's chest._

"_You've really got this mom thing down, Lo."_

"_Yeah, well, I wouldn't say that. I'm doing my best to do what's best for her, and I just hope that's enough. I think Clark does all the real parenting because she always laughs when he super speeds her diaper change. Great excuse for me not to do them, I think."_

"_And what do you call what you just did? Fake parenting?"_

"_I think the technical term is 'expressing milk.' I like to call it controlled leaking."_

"_No, not that. The only time you aren't tense these days is when you're with Jordan. You make sure to present the world to her like nothing has changed now that Clark is back, even though he's unconscious. That's real parenting. I always knew you'd be better at this mother thing than you gave yourself credit for." Chloe stood up and smoothed out a couple of the wrinkles in her shirt. "That's why I'm going to go back to Gotham."_

"_What? But I need you here, Chloe. You help with everything while I stay close to Clark."_

"_You've got everything under control, Lois. I haven't done anything today. Literally. You've done everything for Jordan, you ordered lunch and you made sure you were near Clark. I've been sitting in one chair or another all day while you just did what you do, and that's take care of the people you love. I would try to take care of you, but the only person that's ever really succeeded at that is Clark."_

"_But... I like having you here, Chloe." Lois stood up and walked over to her, shoving her hands into her pockets as she walked. "It's comforting knowing that it's not just me. Even if you don't really do anything, I like having the safety net. I haven't really been without one since Jordan was born, what with Clark hovering over her almost as much as I have."_

"_You don't need it, Lois. I think you're as good at this as Martha Kent is, minus the cooking part." Lois smiled and wrapped her up in a hug, which Chloe happily returned. "I love you, Lo. I'm just a phone call away if you need me, alright?"_

"_I know. Call me when you get home so I know you're ok, alright?"_

_Chloe grinned as she pulled away from Lois and started towards the door. "I always do, Lois. I'll see you soon." Chloe smiled at her one last time and walked out the door. She walked to the elevator and pulled out her phone, dialing the plane's pilot to have him get the jet fueled up. She shook her head and hoped Clark would be alright, but couldn't help mumbling as she thought about him. _

"_Get well soon, because your wife and daughter love you too much to lose you. I don't know of a better reason than the love of Lois Lane Kent and Jordan Sullivan Kent for you to recover quickly."_

---

Lois finished chewing a bite of one of her hot dogs as she contemplated what Chloe had said in the story. Had she really been that together when Jordan was a baby? It seemed unlikely, but once again her daughter was living proof that she'd done something right. Apparently she didn't need a safety net with her children, thought it was always nice to have Clark to fall back on.

"So, I guess you're all done."

"Indeed," Chloe said around a bite of her turkey sandwich. "I could always lie to you, say I went back and make my part of the story longer, though. Just say the word and I'm sure I'll be able to come up with something."

"That's quite alright." Lois looked back over her shoulder and found Clark was still sitting with Jordan, though apparently he'd given up on trying to keep her face clean and was just letting her eat. She stood up and walked over to them, putting her plate down next to Jordan's as she sat down. "Got a little something on your face, baby girl."

Jordan grinned and grabbed another cut up piece of hot dog, popping it into her mouth. Lois thought about working on the mess she'd made of her face, but decided against it. If Clark was letting it go, so was she.

"So, Smallville, I guess I get to hear your account of the events now."

"I guess that could be arranged, though I think some form of payment should be given for making me recall a painful event. If you kiss me, I think I may be able to fight through the bad memories."

Lois grinned in spite of herself. Why did him being goofy make her feel so good? Love had officially turned her into a lover of the goofiness that is Clark Kent. Freaking love. If it wasn't so great, she'd have been annoyed by it. "Is that so? Well, I guess one little kiss couldn't hurt things."

Leaning over, Lois placed a chaste kiss on his cheek before sitting back down and smiling at him. He apparently was not satisfied. "That's all I get? Maybe we should just hold off on the story for a while."

Grinning a little wider, Lois leaned across Jordan and claimed his mouth, doing her best to rock his world for a few seconds. When she got back to her side of the couch, she took the last bite of her hot dog and saw that Clark was very satisfyingly speechless.

"So, about that story..."

"What?" He blinked a couple times before turning and focusing on her. "Oh, right. Sorry, I was kissed into another reality there for a moment. Back now, everything's good, and I can tell you your story as soon as I remember it. I think you may have kissed it out of my mind."

"Smallville..."

"There it is! Right, ok. We pick up a few days after Chloe left."

---

_It didn't feel like there was kryptonite nearby. He hurt, as much as he ever had in his life, but he didn't feel like his stomach wanted to turn inside out on him. Where was he? The last he remembered, the goons were loading him into a crate with the kryptonite they'd used to beat the hell out of him. That had been unpleasant, to say the least._

_He didn't think he was dead. If there was a heaven and he was there while he was hurting like this, that was going to be a huge let down. Of course, he might be in hell for one reason or another, though he liked to think he'd let a good life. He'd helped lots of people; that should count for something._

_Pushing those thoughts away, he decided to try and open his eyes, which felt like they were as heavy as anything he'd ever had to lift. When they finally moved, blinding light greeted him and he shut them again, suppressing a groan that he felt would do some good. He opened them again, slightly, and was again bombarded with light. His eyes slowly adjusted, and he found himself looking at the ceiling of the apartment._

_Feeling something on his chest, he didn't want to move and have it fall off. Pulling his chin to his body, he found a small hairy head staring back at him. Well, Jordan had picked a heck of a place to take a nap. How had she even gotten there? Last he checked, she wasn't exactly climbing things yet. She was doing well sitting without any support, but so far her best form of movement was shuffling along on her backside, and that rarely went for more than two shuffles. That certainly didn't lend itself to climbing._

_He tried to move an arm, but found that he'd been tightly wrapped in blankets. He pushed against the constraints, but found that he was unable to free himself and it really hurt to try and move anyway. He look at his body best he could, and sighed at what he saw. Lois had swaddled him, for lack of a better term. She really was great at being a mom, like he'd figured she would be, but this was taking things a little too far. _

_He looked around at his surroundings, but found that the couch had been turned so that it faced the windows and gave him a view of not very much inside the apartment. He looked down at Jordan again, deciding she was the best thing around to look at. She always looked so peaceful when she slept, in stark contrast when she was awake. She liked being the center of attention, and liked being loud while the spotlight was on her. Definitely her mother's daughter._

_He tried to smile as he watched her, but as his mouth moved it started hurting like he had a tooth made of kryptonite. They really had done a number on him. _

"_Well, look who decided to join the world of the living."_

_Clark smiled in spite of the pain, turning his head to find Lois standing over him. He opened his mouth to talk, but all he got out was a croak. His throat felt dryer that it ever had in his life. _

"_Take it easy, Clark." Lois held a glass up to his mouth, and he took as much water as she offered. He cleared his throat before trying to speak again._

"_Hey."_

"_Hey yourself."_

"_How'd I get here?"_

"_A little luck, a little help from Lara and a whole lot of me lugging your ridiculously heavy body around until I got you back to the apartment. I know you've saved my life like eight hundred times, but you owe me. I don't have super strength to fall back on." Lois picked up Jordan and walked off, then came back a moment later. Tears were suddenly in her eyes as kneeled down next to him._

"_I thought I'd lost you. When I found you... I don't remember a lot of things, but I've never been that scared before. I'm sure of that." The tears were no longer just in her eyes, and he felt like he could cry himself. He hated causing her this pain. "You were so cold that I didn't think you could still be alive. The kryptonite and the freezing water for three days... I can't do this alone, Jordan needs you... I need you..."_

_She finally lost all her composure and laid her head on his chest, crying as hard as head ever seen her. He just wanted to pull her close, to reassure her that it would take more than Lex Luthor and a dozen body builders with kryptonite to take him away from her. Unfortunately, she was a champion level swaddler and he was stuck._

_A couple minutes later, she lifted her head up and smile at him through tears. "You have no idea how much seeing your eyes makes me feel better."_

"_I'm sorry."_

"_No, you have nothing to be sorry about. I was just scared, and I'm sure this wasn't something that just happened by mistake. Who did this?"_

"_Lex."_

_Lois' eyes turned to fire. "F-cking Lex Luthor. I'm going to kill that son of a bitch."_

"_No. We'll get him, but not like that." Clark tried to move, but found he was still wrapped up tightly. How could he have forgotten? "Could you unwrap me?"_

_She sniffled, then smiled. "Yeah, I guess. I just wanted to be sure that you stayed warm. Feeling you frozen like that... well, it made me paranoid, even with having the heat on in here." _

_She got his arms free a moment later, but left his legs all wrapped up. It was one of the hardest things he'd ever done physically, and he had to grit his teeth just to get one arm around her without screaming in pain. Feeling her against him made the pain dull a little, though, and allowed him to know that it would be ok. He would never get over the fact that he felt like a stronger person whenever Lois was around._

_ Two Days Later _

"_You're just trying to show off, aren't you?"_

_Jordan looked up at him as he sat up. He forced himself to keep moving against the pain, not wanting to fall over and feel like his six month old daughter could stay upright better than he could. It might be true, though, with as long as it took him to sit up and prop himself up with pillows. _

_When he finally got upright, he took a moment to catch his breath. Everything still hurt. It was like the kryptonite had drained his powers away and left him as a hurting shell of himself. He could barely even do anything for himself yet. He was just starting to get to the point where he could drink on his own without falling over in agony. _

"_What are you doing, Clark? I could have helped you sit up."_

_He had to fight himself to keep from sighing. She'd taken to mothering him as much as she did Jordan. He wasn't surprised, but when she was around she wouldn't let him do anything himself. For the things he still couldn't do himself, he appreciated it, but he wasn't going to get any better if he just laid around and let her do everything._

"_I know you could have helped, Lois, but I need to start pushing myself. I love you for helping me, and I love you just because I love you, but if I rely on you to do things for me, I'm just going to end up getting better more slowly. Trust me, you did the same when you were recovering."_

"_I also had a lot farther to go, as I understand it, and wasn't exposed to a rock that will kill me for three days." Lois walked over from the kitchen and picked up Jordan, who'd taken to scooting across the floor towards the couch. She sat her down in Clark's lap, and he wrapped a hand around her softly to keep her from getting too mobile on him._

"_Look, I know this is going to be hard for you, Clark. You're not used to hurting, let alone being about as weak as a six month old, but you're not going to be able to fix this by pushing yourself too hard. I'm all for you trying things on your own, but progress probably won't come as quickly as you want it to. You need to be ready for failures and to let me help you."_

_This time Clark did sigh. Apparently history had taken to repeating itself, because he could swear that he'd given that same exact speech to Lois when she'd tried pushing herself too hard. Of course, back then she'd just scoffed at him and said that she didn't need his help, though she was willing to let him stay around in case there was something Chloe couldn't lift._

"_I know, Lois. I'm very willing to have you help, I just want to get better so that I can be there for you and Jordan like I should be."_

"_We're fine, Smallville. We've got this mom and daughter thing down, don't we baby girl?"_

_Jordan looked up at him and gurgled. Not surprisingly, it seemed that she agreed with her mother. He foresaw long years of those two agreeing on things he did not agree with. "Alright, alright, I'll be smart about recovering. Let me ask you something though, Lois: is being the voice of reason strange for you?"_

"_Oh, very funny, Smallville."_

_ Six Days Later _

"_I think I've been pretty good about not asking this so far, but if you don't offer up the story of what happened in the next ten minutes, I am going to... well, you're already hurt, but maybe I'll love you a little less and let you recover a little slower."_

_Clark glanced over at Lois as he sucked a noodle from his soup into his mouth. Jordan was nursing, and despite the calm that Lois always had while feeding Jordan, her eyes were a step short of shooting daggers at him. At the moment her eyes were only to dinner knives, and he really didn't want to get to daggers. He swallowed and smiled at her._

"_Right, what happened. Well, I met with the source. Turned out to be a whole bunch of nothing, though. As I was heading back, there was a call for help at the docks. So, I had the taxi driver pull over and drop me off. I made my way into an alley and took off, getting to the docks and finding a warehouse with smoke coming out of it. I went inside, and that's where everything went wrong._

"_When I landed in the warehouse, there was nobody around. I looked around without using x-ray vision for a moment, trying to find the source of the smoke. A man ran out of a hallway into the main room I'd come into, doubled over and coughing. He ran straight to me, and I was about to ask him what had happened when he punched me, kryptonite in hand._

"_I was floored, my vision swimming when I looked up and found that the man that had run out was Lex in a wig. He pulled it off, tossed it away and kneeled down next to me, placing the kryptonite on my chest. There was taunting, which I'll skip while Jordan is here, and a dozen or so very muscled men came from where he'd been and started beating me."_

_Clark sighed, wincing as he relived the punches and kicks landing all over his body. He could almost feel them again, shuddering as he placed his bowl of soup down on the coffee table, then wincing as a muscle in his side seized up._

"_Are you alright, Clark? We don't have to do this if it's too fresh. You know my curiosity and how it kills cats. Well, that's kind of gruesome, and you know I would never kill a cat or any other animal..."_

"_Lois." Clark straightened up and smiled at her. "You're rambling, and I'm fine. Lingering injuries is all that was."_

"_That wasn't all it was, Smallville."_

"_No, but I need to go through this. I need to be able to talk about it so that I can get past it and get on with my life." He took a deep breath before continuing. "I don't know how long I was beaten. It could have been an hour, it could have been a day, though that seems unlikely. I remember hurting all over like I never had before, even when exposed to kryptonite. I think it had been taped to my chest or something so that it wouldn't fall off. All I know was that it hurt._

"_When it stopped, they dragged me somewhere. I was only half aware of anything that wasn't pain at that point. They stuffed me in the crate, bending me painfully to get me in. Again, I don't know how long I was in there before losing consciousness, but it couldn't have been long. I do remember Lex telling his goons to dump me in the middle of the river, but since you found me at the docks only half submerged, I guess they got lazy and assumed I was a goner without the drowning."_

_Clark was interrupted from staring at the carpet by the sound of a little burp, and he smiled as Lois got Jordan started feeding again on her other breast. Apparently it wasn't just calming for her when Jordan nursed. He hadn't realized until now how much the fact that he was with his wife and daughter had made things seem easier then they were the past few days._

"_I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Clark, and I'm so sorry that Lex took advantage of the fact that you always answer calls for help."_

"_It's not the first time it's happened, though it is the first time it happened to that end. Before you forgot, before we got engaged the first time, a woman called for help, and when I got there she started trying to seduce me. It was interesting, and when I told you about it you got fairly annoyed."_

"_I'm not entirely unannoyed at the moment."_

"_Be that as it may, she tried it a couple more times and I got her straightened out. There's still the odd seduction attempt, but I am a happily married man."_

"_Yeah you are." Lois smiled at him. "Is it odd that I want to mark you as mine right now?"_

_Clark smiled right back at her. "Is it odd that I wouldn't mind being marked?" _

_ Ten Days Later _

"_That's an interesting workout. What do you call it?"_

"_Baby curls."_

_Clark smiled before curling Jordan again, bringing her to his body slowly, then letting her back out. She wasn't giggling as she had when he'd first started doing them, but she did seem to be enjoying herself. He curled her up one last time before getting her settled in the crook of his arm._

"_Any sign of your powers today?"_

"_Not that I've noticed. Want to help me test 'em out?"_

"_Sure, let me see if I can throw you up in the air and we'll see if you hover."_

"_Very funny. I was thinking more along the lines of you coming and standing in front of me so that I can try to look through your clothes."_

"_Well, isn't that naughty of you. I'd love to help!" She walked over then jumped in front of him, causing Jordan to look over at her before exploring the room with her eyes again. "X-ray away, Smallville."_

_Clark focused his vision on her, trying to look through her clothes. He thought he saw her skin for a second, but it was so brief that it may have just been a trick of the mind. He'd seen her skin so many times before that it wasn't out of the realm of possibility for him to think he'd seen it when he hadn't, especially that little mole one the left side of her..._

_No. That would be a frustrating road to go down. She wasn't going to let him get anywhere near her, at least not the way he wanted to._

_He sat back into the couch, still holding Jordan close. It was getting close to when she usually napped, so he wasn't surprised to see that she was starting to fade. "No luck. I thought I saw something for a second, but being so familiar with your skin..." He grinned at her. "I really want to see your skin up close again. Call me crazy, but going over twenty days without seeing you sans clothes may be hindering my healing."_

"_Well, if you think it would help you heal, why don't you go put Jordan in her crib and meet me back here?"_

_Clark was in Jordan's room before he knew it, and was followed by a little gust of wind. Looking around to make sure that it had actually happened, he grinned and placed Jordan down gently before walking back out into the living room. Lois grinned back at him._

"_Did you just... zoom?"_

"_I think I may have. Apparently just the hint of possible skin to skin enjoyment heals me."_

"_Well, if that does the trick..."_

---

"After that, it only took a couple more days for me to regain all my powers. I started protecting the city again a few days after that, and I went to confront Lex."

"You confronted him?"

"Well, it was more exchanging words than anything."

---

_Clark floated down outside the top floor of the Lexcorp building, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for somebody in the office to notice him. When somebody finally did, the office cleared and Lex walked out onto the balcony surrounding that floor of the building._

"_Well, I must say that it's refreshing to finally have an opponent that isn't easily dispensed, no matter how much I want you dead. It's also an annoyance, but one expects those to overlap. I find that I am curious as to how you survived, though."_

_Clark ground his teeth together, holding himself back from taking justice into his own hands. It went against everything he'd been taught and everything he believed in. He evened out his breathing and made his jaw stay still a second before answering._

"_Hope always prevails against hate."_

_Lex chuckled and walked to the edge of the balcony, leaning against it. "Always with the holier than thou attitude, Superman. Do you still think yourself too good to get down in the mud and bandy words with me? If you simply want to spout platitudes at one another, I'm sure I could remember a few. _

"_The father of an old friend of mine was fairly fond of them before he died. Jonathan Kent was almost as disgracefully boring as you are, when it comes right down to it, but at least he had the dignity to die and stop annoying me."_

_Clark thought that had he moved, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself from throttling Lex. How was it that he could enrage him without even trying? How had they ever been friends?_

"_I don't bandy words with you, Luthor, because I have better things to do with my time. Unlike you, I help people and try to make the world a better place, not to profit for myself. Any helping hand you offer always has a bill attached or knife hidden in the other hand."_

"_Oh, I don't think that's true. Profit is not always monetary. Every time you save somebody, your image profits from it, and people keep on adoring you, unaware of the threat you pose to the world. That's what separates me from everybody else: I'm not a sheep that buys into whatever information I'm fed."_

"_What separates you from everybody else is that fact that you consider people nothing but sheep. Every life on this planet is important. Every life on this planet is worth more than however much money you have. People can believe whatever they want about me, but I'm going to continue to help those that want it. Nothing you do will stop that, Luthor."_

_They stared at each other, neither moving. He heard his cape flapping with the breeze, then Lex suddenly stood up straight, smiling. _

"_I look forward to the day I get to finally prove what you are, Superman, or rid the world of you once and for all. Until then, enjoy your sheep."_

_Clark watched him walk away, going back into the office and disappearing into the rest of the building. With a sigh, he flew off._

---

"And after that, everything fell back into a normal routine."

Lois nodded, sitting back in her chair. "So, we were not working for a while. What did I tell Perry for why we weren't there?"

"You told Perry that we needed some time off. We do so many stories that he gave us the time off, though he wasn't all that happy about it being without any warning. We didn't have many vacation days left for the rest of the year."

"One would think not." Lois stretched out, yawning as she did so. "I could swear I wasn't tired a minute ago."

"I guess listening to stories takes it out of you when you're pregnant."

Rolling her eyes, Lois sat up again and cracked her neck. Standing up, she walked over to Chloe, who was playing with all the girls on the ground. Jordan ran over to her and stopped right in front of her. "You behaving yourself, baby girl?"

Jordan smiled and nodded up at her. "Yes, mommy."

"Good. It's time to go, so why don't you go grab your jacket, alright?"

"Can't we stay a little longer?"

"Sorry, but we've stayed too long as it is. You're going to be a terror to get up in the morning, much like I used to be."

"But..."

"Coat, baby girl."

Jordan frowned, but went off to get her coat. Chloe stood up and smiled at her while stretching herself out. "Headed out?"

"Yup. The small one over there is going to be a whole bunch of fun to get down tonight, and I have a feeling it's going to take Clark to do it since I'm the one making her get her coat to go."

"The danger of being th strict one. Good thing she loves you too much to remember to be mad at you tomorrow morning. It also helps that she's three."

Lois scoffed and enveloped her cousin in a hug. "You underestimate the ability of a Lane to hold a grudge. I love you."

"Love you, too. See you tomorrow."

Half an hour later, Lois unlocked the door to the apartment and walked in, holding the door for Clark as he carried a sleeping Jordan inside. "She conked out quickly."

"Yeah, car rides have always been a danger to Jordan's waking state. Even as a baby, the two things that were generally sure to get her down were a car ride or me flying her, and you were more comfortable with the former for the first few months of her life."

"I can't imagine why," she said wryly as she tossed her coat on a chair and stepped out of her shoes. She walked over and took Jordan out of Clark's arms, getting her settled in her arms.

"I could get her into bed, Lo. I have done it once or twice before."

"Yeah, well, I like putting my daughter to bed."

She smiled at him a second before walking to Jordan's room, getting her into some pajamas and under her covers without any problems. A job well done, if ever there was one. She stifled a yawn as she closed Jordan's door most of the way behind her, working on the buttons of her shirt as she walked across the apartment.

She had her shirt off as she closed the door behind her, and walked past Clark and into the closet, finding the plaid sleeping shirt and slipping it on. She dropped her pants off and walked back out into the bedroom, where Clark had already undressed and laid down on the bed. She sat down on the edge and shed her socks before crawling over to him and laying her head down on his chest.

"How is it your chest is so comfortable when it's so hard?"

"A conundrum if ever there was one. Love you, Lo."

She smiled as he turned out the light. "Love you too, Smallville."


	55. Chapter 55

---- Chapter 55

Lois inspected the board games in front of her, trying to decide what Jordan would like best for Christmas. Chutes and Ladders was a classic, but could you really do any better than Candy Land? Lois was of that mind that when it came to children's games, Candy Land was the standard, so she loaded it into her shopping cart and took off towards the stuffed animals she'd passed earlier.

"I thought you were getting Chutes and Ladders, Lo. Why the change?"

"Because Candy Land is the best, Smallville. Always has been, always will be."

"_No way_ Candy Land is better than Chutes and Ladders. There's no chuting and no laddering, therefore it cannot be a superior game."

Lois rolled her eyes as she stopped in front of the stuffed animals but turned to face Clark. "I can't possibly have married a man that doesn't think that Candy Land is the best. It's just not possible. When I made a list as a kid of what qualities my husband would have to have, loving Candy Land above all other board games was one of the things on it."

"You made lists of what qualities you needed your husband to have? Somehow that doesn't click in my mind with the you I know so well."

"I was five, Smallville. The other two things on the list were that he wasn't allowed to be smelly and he had to be awesome." She shrugged at him and turned to face the stuffed animals to hide her smile. "Ah well, one out of three isn't bad, I guess."

"Very funny." Clark wrapped his arms around her before pointing at one of the stuffed animals. "Is that a stuffed platypus?"

Lois looked where he was pointing, then felt her eyebrows rise a little as she spotted what he was talking about. It _was_ a stuffed platypus. She reached out and grabbed it, squeezing it a couple times and seeing how soft it was before she tossed it into the basket.

"She is going to be so confused as to what a platypus is, but how do you pass that up?"

"You don't. So, what did Chloe say we should get for Jack, Aly and Liz? I can go grab those while you pick out another stuffed animal or two and some coloring books."

Lois pulled the list Chloe had given her out of her pocket, running through each child's wishes before she settled on the circled items Chloe had told her would be perfect.

"For Jack, a new basketball. They're putting up a hoop for him, so we'll enable his love for sports a little more. For Liz, the book 'Where The Wild Things Are.' Can't believe she doesn't have that already, or hasn't inherited it from Jack. Chloe really dropped the ball there. And for Aly, the Elementary School Musical 5 soundtrack." She turned in his arms to face him. "Did they seriously make that?"

"The will to be original died around the year 2017, shortly before our marriage."

"Still, that just seems to be taking things too far. Plus, how good can the kids singing possibly be? I doubt it was worth one spinoff, let alone five. Chloe's going to go nuts." She pointed up at him, though her arm was kind of smushed between their bodies. "We are NOT letting Jordan get sucked into that brand of nonsense."

"What brand of nonsense would you prefer we let her get sucked into?"

"Something original. Maybe even her very own nonsense, who knows."

Clark roll his eyes and took the list from as he let her out of his embrace. "Let our daughter find her own nonsense... well, nobody said raising kids was boring. I'll go get these things while you finish up with Jordan's stuff and meet you up front. It's three o'clock now, so if we're lucky, we'll be out of here and home by Thursday."

"Lines and traffic: what Christmas is all about."

"Amen." Clark kissed her and walked off. She started off the other way, going up and down the toy aisles and looking for anything she thought Jordan might like. She liked to think she had a pretty good grasp on what her daughter liked, having known her a whole month and four days now.

She grabbed a couple more things before she found herself in front of a couple stacks of coloring books. She picked out a Justice League book and a Warner Brothers cartoon character one as well before finding a couple more she might like and tossing them in the cart.

Christmas shopping for her daughter. Unbelievable.

Smiling, she made her way up to the front of the store, pushing her way through a few groups of people that had decided to take up the entire aisle, and found Clark standing at the end of one of the shorter lines.

"Good find. Maybe now we'll be home by Tuesday."

Clark smiled at her and placed all the stuff he'd picked up in the cart. "Here's hoping. Now, the real question is, what in the world should we get Chloe?"

"You're asking _me_? Remember the memory problem, Smallville? I have no idea what she does and does not have, or what she would even want. As much as I wish I did, and as much as she's still the awesome Chloe I knew back in 2008, I have no idea what we could get her now."

"Maybe I could ask mom what she thinks."

"No, we are not going to let your mother pick out what we give my cousin. And what about Bruce? What could he possibly need?"

"He's requested that any money we want to put towards presents for him be either put towards his family or given to charity. Very noble of him, and you've said for years that he was the one person you could never figure out a good gift for."

"True." Lois moved the cart up a couple feet as the line shifted oh so slowly, scratching her head as she looked back over at Clark. "Is there anything we can get Chloe and Bruce as a couple? That way we'd be getting him something, but it would be directed at his wife as well."

"I don't know. They have more electronics in their living room than we do in our entire apartment. They have numerous nice paintings."

"I'd say we could give them time alone to be with each other, but we're always available for that anyway. Hell, we're doing it tomorrow, though they are using that to finish shopping." Lois sighed. "Alright, I guess we can ask Martha about what we should get them. Since Christmas is a week away, it's not like we have a lot of time to be thinking about it."

They moved another few feet and were next in line, but Lois had to sigh when the cashier called for a price check on three different things. Rolling her eyes, she looked back to Clark. "What are we getting Martha?"

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"She asked that we spend the time we would use shopping for her gift volunteering at a children's shelter. Apparently she wants cared for children for Christmas."

Lois turned and started unloading the cart as she thought about that. Based on all the work she was doing with children's advocacy groups now, it wasn't a surprising request. There still had to be something they could get her. Or...

"Let's make dinner on Christmas."

"What?"

Lois placed the basketball on th counter along with the other stuff she'd unloaded while turning her head to face him. "Instead of having Martha do all the work for Christmas dinner, why don't you and I do it? Well, to avoid making everybody sick on Christmas, why don't you do it and I observe?"

Clark frowned at stared off for nothing a second before answering. "I don't know if she'll say thank you or scold us for taking away the privilege of cooking for her family. We will be cooking for children, though, so she can't disapprove too much." He smiled at her. "You always come through in the clutch."

She dropped the last items on the counter and smiled back at him. "I like to think so."

Two Days later

"I can't think of anything, Chloe! I only know everything that he USED to like, not everything he likes now! How the hell am I supposed to get Clark something for Christmas if everything I know is thirteen years old?"

Lois rubbed a hand over her face, slouching down as she frowned. Five days until Christmas, and she had nothing for Clark. She didn't even have an idea about what to think about getting him. She was giving life to his son, but that didn't seem so much a Christmas gift as part of life. Freaking life stealing all the good gifts.

"Lois, less stress and more calm. You're going to make your son tense before his time."

She turned her frown on Chloe for a second before sighing and letting her face slacken. Chloe was right, of course. Stress couldn't be good for AJ. It certainly wasn't doing her any favors at the moment.

"It's my first Christmas as part of a family. I want it to be as good as it was when I dreamed about these kind of things."

"Lois, you have nothing to worry about. You've never been the kind of person to get things done all that far ahead of time, and this is not the first time you've come down to the wire on needing a present for Clark."

"What did I do those other times?"

"Something very similar to what you're doing right now." Chloe stood up and walked around her desk, sitting down in the other chair. "Look, Clark will be happy with whatever you get him. This is not to say go out and buy him a six pack of socks, but if you put a little thought into how you two have spent your time together, the right gift will come to you. And if it doesn't, time heals all gift giving wounds."

Lois rolled her eyes and lightly wacked Chloe on the arm. "Not helpful. Well, helpful and then not helpful. Thank you for the advice, and next time you feel the need to be witty, do it when I'm less stressed."

Lois pushed herself up out of the chair and grabbed the clock Chloe had sitting on her desk, finding it to be a good deal later in the day than she'd expected. Had she even done any real work. She knew Clark had needed to fly off at some point to stop help clear up traffic from the icy roads, but she didn't think it had been two hours ago. How big could the pileup have been? And shouldn't somebody working at a newspaper have heard about it?

"Do you think Perry is going to need me sometime in the next four minutes?"

Chloe shook her head. "Why don't you wait four minutes and see?"

"That's the logical answer. Stupid logic keeping me in the office for four minutes."

"Ha! You know you'd have stayed anyway, even if you did want to leave. You're a workaholic, Lois, and a proud one at that. Any chance that a good story will pop up will keep you here."

"Yeah, you're right. Plus, I do seem to be cutting out before quitting time more than I used to, recently. Probably not a good habit to fall into."

"No, not unless you have good excuses like children."

Lois shook her head at Chloe, but couldn't help the grin that stole across her face. "I refuse to use my daughter to get out of work early. Well, no more than twice a month."

"That's why one has more children. The more children you have, the more days you can leave five or ten minutes early. Of course, it also ensures more days that you're going to miss while they're sick or bringing home germs to get you sick. I thoroughly enjoy that, and it generally happens once or twice a school year, and that's just with the one in there now."

"Fortunately for me, my daughter seems highly unlikely as one to get sick or carry it home to get her mother sick. Good daughter, Jordan." Lois looked at the clock again, finding that ten minutes has past. "That did not seem like ten minutes worth of conversation. What the hell happened to my sense of time? Is this a pregnancy thing?"

"You've never had a sense of time, Lois. This is how you've always been, so if you blame AJ for this, he'll take revenge and make your labor extra painful."

"Oh come on, he wouldn't do that to his one and only mother, the woman giving him life and allowing him to use me for food for months on end."

Lois watched Chloe stand up and walk back around her desk, grabbing her coat off the back of her chair and shrugging it on. "What was it you told me the other day... ah yes: you underestimate the ability of a Lane to hold a grudge."

"Oh sure, use my own words against me. What are your plans this evening?"

"Family dinner. Bruce is here all week so we're making everybody's favorite meals. Shockingly, we'll only be ordering food once or twice, depending on what the girls choose. You guys want to join us?"

"Thanks, but I think we'll try the same thing tonight. I guess it depends on whatever Clark has going on, but he'll let me know if he's going to be gone most of the night, or let Martha know. One way or another, I'll find something out."

Chloe slung her purse over her shoulder before walking around the desk pulling Lois into a one armed hug. "Nothing like concrete plans, eh?"

"No kidding. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"If everybody bails on you, call me. You can eat with us. In fact, I insist. I want our families together so much that our children are as close as siblings, like we are. Any night that you're alone, you're eating with us."

Lois rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Yes, mom."

"Good, glad that's settled. Talk to ya later, cuz."

Lois walked out of Chloe's office with her and into hers, pulling on her coat and grabbing her bag before walking out again and closing the door behind her. Stopping, she walked back in and grabbed Clark's coat and briefcase before walking out again.

The better part of an hour and loads of annoyance later, Lois finally walked into the apartment and took off her coat, throwing it on its usual chair before tossing her bag onto the seat of it. She ran a hand through her hair, ridding it of the few snowflakes that hadn't melted on the elevator ride up. Freaking snow had only made the ride home worse.

Walking into the bedroom, she started shedding clothes and slipping into much more comfortable garments. When she finally got to slipping her feet into her old bunny slippers, she walked over to the door to the balcony and looked outside, finding the snow still coming down. How the hell was Clark going to fly Jordan home without turning her into a frozen version of herself?

Had she inherited her resistance to cold? Was she going to have to be bundled up in eighteen layers of clothes so that she didn't freeze on the flight home? She was seriously starting to think that this may not be the greatest system of childcare. She trusted Martha beyond words, but it seemed like it might be more prudent to keep her in the city.

Chloe probably wouldn't mind if Jordan stayed with her kids during the day. The twins and Jordan would start school at the same time, though Jordan would be at the younger edge of the grade. Given Jordan's development, the age thing probably wouldn't be a big deal.

Gah, this could wait. It was a problem for future Lois, or at least Lois after the holiday season and moving. She trusted that Clark would make sure Jordan was warm enough. Maybe he could use his heat, laser vision thingy to do the trick. It had to be good for something that didn't involve melting holes in metal, rock or some other substance difficult to melt.

Sighing as she watched the snow, she turned away from the door and walked to the dresser, kicking it so that the secret drawer opened up. She grabbed the diary and walked out to the living room, plopping herself down as best she could with her stomach the way it was. She grabbed the television remote and turned it to a music station, letting the classic rock soothe her dreary mood before opening the diary and turning to the next entry she hadn't read.

June 7, 2019

Eleven years. Eleven years since I was attacked and my life was forever altered. It's amazing how one decision to not go with Chloe changed the way I had to live my life.

And yes, I know that it's odd how I'm marking the eleventh anniversary when I didn't mark the tenth, the usual round number associated with anniversaries. I do have a valid excuse, though.

I was very busy being pregnant at the time, considering whether or not I would screw up my daughter before or after the age of ten. I still haven't come to a conclusive answer on that.

Anyway, that was taking up all my brain power and Clark didn't bother reminding me, so I blame him.

Alright, so I'm forgetful. You know as well as I do that Lois Baby no room in brain for anything else. Well, family and work fit in there, but that's only like eight percent.

(Wow, I really seem to be writing in little sections this time. Weird.)

I didn't even realize it had passed until I realized that it had been eleven years today. Jordan, the little angel/devil, put my world into such a new orbit that I can't even remember the defining moment of my life unless I stumble onto it. Apparently having kids does affect more than one's ability to love and carry giant amounts of stuff around.

On the subject of Jordan, she's quickly headed towards turning one. One! Jesus, the day before yesterday she was still inside me, and yesterday she was just born. Suddenly she's nearly ten months old and I have absolutely no idea where the better part of a year went.

I guess it's alright to get lost in her, though. I don't mind it, certainly. Spending time with her is still just about the coolest thing ever. Watching her figure out the world around her every day is almost as much a rewarding experience as teaching her. Of course, she's already starting to find her stubborn streak, so I fear rewarding is soon going to turn into exhausting.

The coolest thing she's done recently, though, is that she pulled herself up to a standing position all by herself for the first time.

She stood up! Well, she pulled herself up, but she stood! With or without help, she's awesome.

When I saw her doing it, I was extremely tempted to rush over and swoop her into my arms for a hug that last so long she would no longer be in diapers. I stopped myself so that I could get Clark to see her, too, and once he did, I then swooped her up and let her know just how much I love her.

I also let her know that I think she's growing up for too quickly. Granted, growing up quickly is in relative terms, since all of not quite ten months has passed, but she's now been out of my uterus longer than she was actually in it. When I realized that, I kind of just sat back and went 'woah' because I hadn't thought of it like that before.

When I was pregnant, it was just about making sure that she got into the world. Once she actually did get into the world, it became about making sure that she was always safe and healthy. Now she's been living outside as long as she was in, and she's safe, healthy and well on her way towards being a self-propelled person.

Crazy kid and her need to learn movement.

I say that because I'm sarcastic by nature and Jordan being mobile presents me with a whole new set of neuroses. Well, maybe not neuroses so much as worries. Given Clark's genes, I'm really hoping she does not develop his affinity for speed right away. If I have a daughter I can't keep up, I will not be pleased.

If she's a normal speed child, though, I still have to keep track of where she is and what she gets into now. While I've had to do that with crawling, that's not exactly a speed oriented movement. This also means she's going to be reaching new things now, so Clark and I are going to have to make sure that there's nothing harmful she can reach.

Of course, we've already baby-proofed the entire apartment, and I've been over it what feels like three times a week (probably feels like five to Clark) making sure everything is safe. As far as I can tell, she will be safe when walking, aside from falling over and hitting her head on things, but I doubt that can be avoided with any baby. Hopefully, watching the twins learn gave me a clue on what to expect.

So, taking a minute to read what I've been writing, I realize that this is nowhere near what I started about, nor is it being all that informative. Once again, Jordan has invaded my thoughts in the middle of something entirely unrelated to her.

Well, that may not be entirely true. Let's list the order of events.

First, I get attacked. This sets me down a path I can't avoid of forgetfulness and having to adjust myself in public every two to four years. After that, I go through physio, which Clark helped me with quite a bit. This apparently cements his feelings for me, though I think that may have actually happened while I was comatose.

So, that leads us to Clark leaving and finding himself while I really dig into being a reporter and make a name for myself. Basically, we both grow up. I don't think we could have been together before he left because he always seemed so unsure of himself and I was, well, me. How he manages to get me to fall in love with him so much hurts my brain, because I never thought I was so susceptible.

So, I forget while he's gone, and when he gets back the day of Chloe's wedding, I drink myself ridiculous and make sure everybody knows that I lost my memory the previous April. Typical Lois Lane behavior. Clark and I reconnect, I tell him all I know about my brain and it's forgetfulness, and then a week or two later, Superman makes his debut by saving me. I'm smitten, he's unavailable because he's Clark's alter ego.

I know you've been through all this before. Clark, Chloe and whoever had something to relate have probably told you things fifteen times. There is a point to this, so bear with me while I be long winded... would it be long penned while writing?

Anyway, after that, Clark asks me out, we have the first date from hell, and that same night Superman has to shoot me down. Rough night for the heart. There are months we barely speak, Jack is born and we hash everything out. Go us. Fast forward to The Cinco de Mayo incident. Revelations, realizations and sex. Crazy day.

So, we're together for a while, and then I propose to him. I guess somebody had to do it. Ring is put on finger, much sex is had, and I wake up the next morning to find myself sore and not remembering why. That had to be fun.

Then there was that whole Lex nearly buying the Planet fiasco. If I'd have woken up without my memory to find that Lex owned the Planet and I no longer worked there, I may have hurt somebody. A couple months later, Clark asks me out again, we have a much more successful first date and suddenly I'm falling for him again.

Six months after that, he proposes and we break up. That just sounded painful. Then there was that six weeks apart, which admittedly had to be a little cool just because I had my own wing of the Wayne Manor. But sad, of course, because it was sans Clark. But then we get back together and he proposes on Christmas and I say yes and life is good.

Lots of downtime, wedding that next October, honeymoon at Bruce's villa in Spain. Oh, right, night before the wedding: I confess to Chloe that I want to have a baby. That still seems hard to believe, though I'm really glad it happened because I love Jordan so much. You may have noted that by my Jordan related rambles.

The twin's birth rolls around, I do some leg holding and birth watching, and that night, Jordan is made. I get morning sickness, Clark is clueless and I finally tell him. I forget a month later. And that brings us to now, which I have covered in my entries.

So, now that I've wasted a whole bunch of space, here's the point: none of that would have happened had I not been attacked. What if it's not successful, I get away and Clark gets over his crush on me with time? He finds somebody else, I immerse myself in work and suddenly fifteen years have passed, he has a family and I still have work.

And of course, who knows if Bruce and Chloe ever get together without my attack. Who knows if they even ever meet. I never really had any intentions of introducing them. Bruce was a friend, but he wasn't in Metropolis that often. Though, of course, Superman probably would have gotten to know Batman and they might have met in spite of my lack of introductions.

Very literally, the lives of eight people were determined by the fact that I was attacked. Four of those people almost certainly wouldn't exist without the attack.

Therefore, it leads me to wonder just how bad a thing that attack was. Of course, it still affects me through the problems I have with my memory, and the scars I had for ten years were brutal, but would I possess the happiness that I have without that attack? Did it actually changed my life for the better? How wild a notion is that?

I guess all that's left, then, is a metaphorical toast. To Lex, without whom I may never have found a life I loved. I hope he burns in hell for everything he's done to people, but I say he gets a pass on this one. I owe him my life.

How about that. She'd never thought about that before. She really wouldn't have the life she did without the attack. She also wouldn't have a big hole in her memory, but she wouldn't trade that for her daughter or gestating son. Not in a million years.

Lois looked over at a clock and couldn't believe the time. She'd never been _this_ bad with her sense of time. That had seemed like five minutes, not thirty. Why the hell hadn't Clark called yet? She sighed, standing up and going to look out the window again. Snow still falling, questions of Jordan's resistance to cold still floating through her mind.

She walked back over to the couch and sat down again. He had until five minutes after she finished the next diary entry to get back before she asked Martha to feed Jordan and found a way to get to Chloe's house to feed herself.

August 19th, 2019

And I now have a one year old daughter.

A crazier sentence has never been written.

Clark and I took one of the few days off we have left this year to spend the whole day with Jordan. Chloe and her family were in town to celebrate over the weekend, and Martha spent the evening with us. Clark is actually flying her home as we speak. She made dinner for us and fed Jordan her squishy carrots and plums, which tend to be her favorite these days.

It was so good spending the whole day with her without being distracted by work. It really wasn't that long ago since it had been just the three of us for most of the day, but Clark and I both went to the Planet a month and a half after she was born (hooray paternity leave) and since then, it's been the three of us and a crowd of people. Admittedly, she likes the groups of people, but still, it was nice for use to do the family thing for most of the daylight hours.

Once everybody was up and fed in the morning, we set out and went for a walk in the park. Jordan took in the sights and seemed to really enjoy herself. if the smiles were any indication. Of course, she may have just had gas. I like to think we were showing her a good time. After that, we went back to the apartment and did some reading. Clark and I read to her, I mean.

Then there was lunch, including more plums, and that was followed by a nap. She had a good, solid two hours of that, and when she woke up, we got her changed and took her to the zoo. Yeah, it's lame and what everybody does with kids, but who are we to deprive her of the regular childhood experiences? I didn't have 'em, and look how we turned out.

Just shuddered, didn't you? Me too.

So, she saw lions, and tigers and bears (oh my) with a side order of placid things like elephants and apes. Personally, I really enjoyed the kangaroo exhibit, but that may just be because they were giving a free show. Nothing like two kangaroos going at it to really complete your day.

So, we then came back here, Clark got Martha, and we had a good afternoon and evening. A very good day, in my book.

In fact, we did record some of it with what passes for a camcorder these days. I would suggest asking Clark about that. You could see Jordan looking at the cake and then staring at us as if we were toying with her by showing her real food and giving her goop instead. It was the craziest thing.

On non-birthday news, Jordan is officially walking. She does enjoy using her legs, and likes being quick, too. A good run around the apartment with her dad seems to be a daily happening now. Heck, I even take a jog with her some days to get a little exercise. Of course, when I run with her, I'm not quick enough to stop her from falling over.

Poor thing has a small knot on her forehead where she always seems to hit it when she falls. Sometimes she cries, sometimes she doesn't. Usually depends on how fast she was going. And actually, the faster she was running beforehand, the less she cries. I don't know why, but maybe when she's going slower she notices it more? No idea.

Another thing that isn't surprising is how much Jordan loves to go flying with Clark. When the two of them come back from that, she's always smiling for the next hour, no matter what happens. It's great having a happy little girl like that.

On the real news front, Clark and I haven't had any big articles lately. It's been an enjoyable respite from our usual insanity, but I am starting to itch for something good to come along. I like a peaceful city as much as the next person, but it only makes me suspicious that something is going on beneath the surface.

Ah well, something will turn up. It always does. Until next time.

Huh. Short entry. Lois looked over at a clock, finding that it hadn't taken very long to read, and started timing Clark to see if she would actually end up spending the evening with Chloe and her family.

She pushed herself up off the couch, patting her stomach a couple times as she walked to the bedroom and put the diary back into its hidden spot in the dresser. Eyeing the bracelet for a second, she picked it up and slid it on, and suddenly felt determination flowing into her. Smiling, she left it on for a moment and reveled in the feelings of Clark.

Taking it off and putting it back in the dresser, she closed the drawer with her hip and walked back out into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, she grabbed the bottle of apple juice, took the top off and started drinking.

"Do you know how many times I've gotten in trouble with you for that?"

Lois jumped and spilled apple juice all over herself, soaking her shirt. Taking a deep breath, she spun and found Clark staring with wide eyes as he stood just inside the balcony door in his Superman suit, Jordan holding his hand and standing next to him.

"Whoops."

"Whoops?"

"Well, ya know, you weren't supposed to spill the apple juice all over yourself. I thought you heard us come in."

"Had I heard you come in, Smallville, I would have turned to greet you and Jordan." Lois took a deep breath and plastered a smile on her face. "Speaking of whom, how are you, baby girl?"

"Good. Are you going to take a bath?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Whenever I get apple juice all over my clothes you make me take them off and take a bath to get cleaned up. Do you have to do that now?"

Looking down at herself, Lois sighed. If nothing else, she had to change clothes, and she was going to be all sticky anyway... "Yeah, baby girl, mom's going to need a bath. I'm going to do that now before I get all sticky, and I expect a hug when I get out, alright?"

"Ok."

Lois looked up at Clark. "I also expect something quite tasty for dinner, dad. Something that says sorry for making you spill all over yourself."

"Ya know, this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't been drinking straight from the bottle."

She glared at him, and he smiled sheepishly before there was a quick whoosh of air and he appeared next to Jordan with normal clothes and his glasses on. "Right, jokes later. Jordan, why don't you go wash your hands so you can help the old man out."

Jordan took off, and Clark walked over to her. "I am sorry. I just thought it a good opportunity to bust you on something you've busted me for dozens of times over the years."

"I know. I'm going to go shower. What are you going to make?"

"It's a surprise."

"Make it a good one."

An hour later, Lois was walking out of the bedroom, working on drying her hair a little better, and was greeted with some delicious smells. She smiled as she took in a deep breath through her nose, then walked out into the kitchen to find Clark and Jordan working on something.

"Hey, so what'd you make?"

Clark turned around, holding a tray of... something. "Homemade pepperoni rolls, Lo, since you seem to be confused by what you see. And they will be accompanied by..."

There was a knock on the door, and after setting the tray down Clark walked over and soon came back in with a few pizzas in hand. She raised an eyebrow at him until he handed her a pizza. That made her happy, but this still hadn't been what she was expecting.

"I know this isn't what you were expecting..." Again with him knowing her thoughts! "...but we didn't have a whole lot to make since we haven't been to the grocery store recently. We did have the makings of pepperoni rolls, though, and since they go so well with pizza, we have both."

Lois smiled as she took a bite of her extremely meaty pizza, chewing and swallowing before she spoke. "Had me thinking it was just the pepperoni rolls for a second. I'm sure they're good, but it just didn't seem like a whole meal."

"Would I ever deprive my pregnant wife of as large a meal as she wants?"

"Not without risking bodily harm."

"Exactly. Therefore, we have plenty of food to enjoy."

"I thank you, and so does AJ. I'm sure he's giddy that he won't be malnourished. I think I should really start exercising more, though. All this eating sans exercise can't be good for him."

Clark shrugged. "It may not be best for entirely human children, but we have no idea what qualifies as good and bad for either of ours. I assume keeping them away from kryptonite is for the best, but they may have inherited your immunity to it, so who knows? I'm happy with not testing that until they're older, though."

"As am I."

"What's kryptonite?"

"Nothing you need to worry about, baby girl. Say, what'd you do at the farm today?"

While Jordan started talking about her day, Lois looked over at Clark, who met her eyes. She smiled, and he smiled back as they both got back to listening to Jordan talk about her day. No need to ruin her innocence by telling her about a rock that could potentially kill her father.


	56. Chapter 56

---- Chapter 56

"Mommy! Daddy! It's Christmas! Presents!"

Lois felt her eyes flutter open as awareness crept in on her peaceful slumber. She rubbed her face against Clark's chest a couple times before rolling over onto her back. She looked over at him, one eye squinting open, and watched him run a hand over his face. She then glanced over at a clock, noticing that it was barely after six in the morning.

"Isn't she a little young to be up this early wanting to do presents?"

"Who knows," he mumbled as Jordan climbed up into the bed with them and laid herself across Clark. "Well, look what I got for Christmas: my very own Jordan, wrapped in ticklish spots."

Lois smiled as he started in on her, letting her eyes slide close for a second before opening them again and forcing herself to sit up. She didn't bother to stifle a yawn as she swung her legs over the side of the bed to the sound of a giggling girl escaping her father's clutches. She was soon greeted by a small person attaching herself to her legs. Lois pulled Jordan up into her lap.

"I love you, but why in the world are you up so early, baby girl? Usually it takes Herculean efforts rivaling those of the Justice League to get you out of bed at this hour."

"Jack said that on Christmas morning you're supposed to wake up early so that you can see what Santa brought you and have all day to play with your new stuff."

"Jack said..." Lois yawned again, half covering her mouth as she did so. "Apparently Jack is going to be as bad an influence on his siblings and cousins as I was on mine."

"What?"

"Nothing." Lois looked back over at Clark, who looked suspiciously like he was asleep again. She bent down and got her mouth next to Jordan's ear. "Do mommy a favor and go jump on daddy, alright? He needs another wake up call."

Jordan wriggled off of Lois's lap and onto the bed, where she made her way over to Clark and proceeded to sit down heavily on his stomach. When she didn't flinch, as Lois felt she might have if she'd done the same, it occurred to her right then some of what Jordan had inherited. It also elicited a reaction from Clark, who opened his eyes and smiled tiredly.

"Not going to let the old man sleep, are you sweetheart?"

"Mommy told me to jump on you."

"Did she now? Well, I guess she's a pretty smart woman and knows what she's talking about, so I guess I better get up."

As he did so, Clark threw Jordan over his shoulder and got out of bed, standing up. "How about you give your dad a minute to put on a shirt and go to the bathroom before we get this party started, ok?"

"Ok."

Lois yawned again and had Jordan deposited in her lap, where the girl got comfortable with her head laid against her mother's chest. She ran her hand back and forth through Jordan's hair as they waited for Clark. "Are you excited about what Santa brought you?"

"Yeah."

Short, but to the point. She was about to ask another question when Clark walked out of the bathroom and joined them. "So, everybody ready for presents?"

Lois stood up, hefting Jordan onto her hip as she did so. "I think we're all ready to do some major wrapping paper damage. Right, baby girl?"

"Right! Presents!"

They all walked out into the living room together, first to be greeted by half a dozen boxes strewn together here and there. Aside from Christmas, packing had become the word of the week. Half the living room was covered in boxes, while the other half was furniture covered by holiday decorations. They made their way through the junk to the Christmas tree, and Lois let Jordan down as Clark plugged in the lights for the full Christmas morning effect.

Jordan made a beeline to the unwrapped presents from Santa that they'd put out the night before. Candy Land got the once over before she moved on to some of the coloring books they'd decided would be from Santa. She then moved on to the stuffed platypus, holding it a moment before looking up at Lois.

"What's this?"

"That, Jordan, is a platypus. It's an animal that's only found in eastern Australia and that part of the world. Pretty crazy looking, isn't it?"

Jordan nodded and stuffed it in the crook of her arm before moving on to other things that were not covered in wrapping paper. That didn't last, and Jordan started ripping into her presents with quite a bit of ferocity. She wondered if that was cousin induced as much as her early awakening, or just Jordan being Jordan.

A little while later, Jordan had shredded through all her presents and was laying on the floor, coloring, still with her platypus curled up in one of her arms. Lois smiled and blew on the hot chocolate Clark had given her a few minutes before and took another sip, sighing as the warmth ran down to her stomach.

"Merry Christmas."

Lois went cross eyed for a second before her sight focused on the small, elongated gift Clark had put six inches from her face. She smiled and took it from him after she put her hot chocolate down, looking back at him as she did so. "Thank you." She removed the wrapping paper to find a felt covered box, and she opened it to find a thin, platinum bracelet. She pulled it out of the box, and found that hanging down off of it were two carved and gilded pieces, one reading Jordan and the other AJ.

"I know, I know that it's cliché for a man to give his wife jewelry for Christmas or a birthday, but you hadn't really said anything you wanted, and I'd ordered the bracelet and Jordan before you forgot. I got the AJ piece ordered as soon as you embraced the nickname, and it was ready just in time. Yes, the fact that you've never been huge on jewelry did occur to me, and this is kind of a glorified charm bracelet..."

Lois reached up and grabbed Clark on the back of his neck with both hands and pulled him down into a searing kiss. When she finally let him pull away, he blinked a few times. "You were rambling, Smallville, and that's the best way I know of to get you to stop."

He finally seemed to recover himself and grinned down at her. "I'm ok with it."

"And I love the bracelet. This is a piece of jewelry that I'll be happy to wear my entire life."

"Good, I'm glad. I just didn't know what to switch to, because oddly enough, before now you've always lost your memory between January and April. Of course, we were barely speaking for the Christmas after the first time your forgot, but for the other two I had plenty of time to plan and figure out what I wanted to surprise you with. Generally I do more than a bracelet, but when we knew you'd probably forget, you told me to keep it simple for once."

Lois got the bracelet on after a second and smiled as she looked at it. "I never thought I'd be so enraptured by something so shiny and simple, but I really am." She looked back up at him. "I love it because it's thoughtful, because it allows me to have my children close even when they aren't and because it's the first gift I've ever gotten from you... that I remember." She waved a hand at him. "You know what I mean."

"I do, and I'm glad." He leaned over a kissed her before straightening back up and walking over to Jordan, settling himself on the floor to color with her. She watched him start coloring with her, and engaging her in one of the silliest conversations she'd ever heard: the greatness of plaid and why it could be used in any picture.

God, she hoped her gift was something that he liked. She'd never been the greatest at gift giving, but this out had been awful. She didn't know what he liked now because he was always so wrapped up in telling her about her own life or taking care of Jordan and the rest of the world. She loved that he was taking care of the world, but he could certainly take care of her a little less and say what he does and does not want a little more.

She didn't even know if she'd done something like this for him before. It wasn't like she could go ask him to list everything that she'd gotten him for Christmas before just so she could know she wasn't doubling up. She probably could have, actually, but that seemed like... well, it seemed logical. Why did logic always come to her AFTER the fact?

Fishing around in the pocket of her robe, which she had grabbed and put on before sitting down to observe her daughter enjoy the morning, she pulled out the small present she'd had made for him, eyeing it a second before calling out to him.

"Hey, Smallville."

He turned around to look at her. "What's up?"

"Got a present for ya, if you want it."

He smiled and turned around, leaning back on his hands. "I told you, Lo, you didn't need to get me anything. You've fallen into such an extreme situation and handled it better than anybody else I know would have. Just having you love me and that little one you're carrying is more than enough."

"Be that as it may," she said, "I felt that I should do something a little more than simply be the wife to the most amazing man on the world and have the privilege of getting to be the mother to our son. I hope you like this. Actually, I just hope I haven't given you something like this before."

She tossed him the light box, and he caught without a problem, looking at her curiously as he opened it up and pulled out the flash drive looking thing that passed for a movie these days. She was really going to have to ask him what they called those things. On the side he was looking at, it simply said 'Christmas.'

"Well, you certainly have me intrigued... you got me a movie named Christmas? I can say with a high degree of certainty that you've never gotten me that before."

"Plug it in."

He shrugged and scooted himself over to the television, plugging it in and turning the tv on. She watched his face as the picture that popped up on the screen was a little title saying 'Christmas 1992' before it faded into Clark and Jonathan sitting amongst a batch of open presents, playing a game together.

"I had no idea what to get you. I was clueless, really, because I had no idea what you like and dislike now. While some things don't change with time, those do. So, I tried to think of something that I cold maybe make for you, but I am awful at that sort of thing. Then for some reason I thought about chocolate, I got some and then I finally figured out something: home movies are a treasure trove.

"I talked to Martha and she pulled together all of the old home movies made on Christmas from your childhood, then I talked to Chloe to see what she had from adulthood and it was a surprisingly large collection. I think you've been holding out on showing me my past instead of telling it to me."

"We talked about that last time you forgot, and you said that it was too impersonal to see it all first. You wanted to know what people were thinking in a situation, not just what they were doing." Through all that, he hadn't looked away from the screen, causing Lois to grin. He liked it.

"When you put what I said that way, it makes sense. Sorta. Anyway, once I'd gotten everything together, I talked to Bruce and he referred me to a professional editor in his employ to help me get things the way I wanted. That's why I took off a few days ago, saying that Perry was sending me to do an interview for him and why I wouldn't tell you who or where.

"So, I got together with this guy, he cleaned up all the older video and we got the thing put together in about six hours. Real nice guy, actually, and very good at what he does, as you can see. The years on there should be '92 through '98, 2000, 2002 and every one since Jack was born. Apparently we've spent them all with Chloe and her family. Admittedly, the last few on there are more for me to watch now and for us to have when we're old and gray."

"I can't believe you went to so much trouble, Lo." She smiled as he paused the movie and turned to face her. "I suddenly feel like that bracelet isn't enough."

"Hey, don't do that. This bracelet is great, and I love it. Like I said, it's the first gift I get from you, and that makes it special on top of the fact that it's a reminder of my children. I got lucky, really, that I even thought of anything."

"And it blows my gift out of the water. This always happens, unfortunately. I get something for you that I think is extremely meaningful and you top it without breaking a sweat." He got up and walked over to her, sitting down on the arm of the chair she was in. "One of these years, I will out meaningful you."

She grinned and pulled him down into another kiss, smiling as she let him go a second later. "Not likely , Smallville. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Lo."

"Merry Christmas, guys!"

Lois was pulled into a hug by Chloe, kinda of a sideways thing they'd taken to recently to avoid the belly bump that had been plaguing their normal hugs, before she was let go and Jordan was enveloped in a hug. She'd forgotten just how much Chloe liked Christmas, though this was a bit more enthusiastic than she'd been earlier in life.

"How's the day been, Chloe?"

"Kind of long, really. Got the early wake up from Jack and the girls, though the established rule is that there is no getting the parents up before seven in the morning on all holidays."

"Ooh, good rule. Jordan woke us up not long after six, and if I hadn't grabbed a nap with her before we came over, I think I would have been asleep by about six this evening. Funny thing, though, is that my daughter quoted your son as saying that on Christmas, early rising is what's supposed to happen."

Chloe nodded as she let Jordan go to play with the other kids and their new stuff. "Yeah, he's been an early riser on this day for a few years now. I'm surprised Jordan was able to do it."

"You and I both." Lois shed her jacket and hung it up on the coat rack, cracking her neck a couple times as she followed Chloe into the house.

"Say, where's Clark? Out on business?"

"Yeah. He said he was hoping that there wasn't going to be anything big today, so I'm hoping that he won't be too much longer before getting here. He'll be bringing the presents for the kids."

"I'm just glad that he hasn't been super busy recently, so to speak. Aside from the bomb incident, it's been a pretty quiet holiday season. The last few years the nuts have been coming out of the woodwork this time of year, in Gotham and Metropolis."

"Guess the holidays are stressful for villains, too."

There was a mug suddenly in front of her, and she found Bruce standing next to Chloe handing her one. "A present from you, Bruce? What am I getting?"

"Hot chocolate."

Lois took the mug, finding the steamy drink to sound very good. The cup she'd had earlier in the day had left her wanting more. If AJ was going to turn her into as much of a hot chocolate addict as she was a pie addict now, she was just going to give up all her own favorites and take up eating all of Clark's favorite foods.

"Thanks, Bruce." She took a sip, and her eyebrows rose up along her forehead. "Wow, this is _really_ good. What'd you do?"

"Mixed a little melted chocolate into the hot milk before adding the chocolate mix."

"This isn't homemade?" Bruce shook his head and walked over to where all the kids were playing. Lois just took another sip and couldn't help sighing at how good it tasted. Chloe followed him, and Lois ended up following her and sitting next to her on their big, incredibly comfortable couch. After a couple minutes of watching the kids play, Jack walked up to them.

"Mom, when's grandma Martha coming? The house smells good when she cooks dinner."

"Actually," Lois said as she sat forward a little, "your uncle Clark and I are going to be making dinner tonight. Well, to keep you guys happy and healthy your uncle Clark is going to be making dinner tonight."

"Does Martha know this, cuz?"

Lois shook her head. "It's her Christmas present. Since she didn't want any actual gifts, we decided to make dinner for the family and let her have an evening of relaxation." She watched Aly, Liz and Jordan run by and shrugged. "As much relaxation you can have with all of us, anyway."

"Is Clark bringing her?"

"Since we're doing this in Metropolis instead of Gotham per the usual, I'm told, Martha decided she'd save Clark the time and just drive herself. She should be here in an hour or so, so I hope Clark gets here soon so dinner can be started and we don't have to wrestle her away from the oven. That would be awkward, not to mention a bad present."

Chloe nodded and they settled into watching the kids play, Bruce joining in with all of them after a few minutes. Lois felt like she was checking the time every two minutes, and she wasn't far off. She was starting to get antsy that Clark wouldn't get back in time and Martha would beat them... him, to the cooking.

An hour and a half later, Lois sat glowering on a stool, arms crossed over her chest as she watched Martha move around the kitchen with the familiarity she had at the Kent farm. Apparently, when it came to Martha Kent, she didn't have to ask where things were in a kitchen, she could just tell by instinct.

She turned her head as she heard the font door of the house open up, and stood as Clark walked into the house, arms full of presents. "Sorry I'm so late, everybody. Busy afternoon out there."

Before he got to her, she watched him get swarmed by a mob of small children. He got all the presents on the ground safely and Jordan got swung up and thrown over a shoulder as he hugged all the others to his legs. She fought the grin that was starting to get the best of her as she watched him play around with them for a moment before he finally looked over to her. She raised an eyebrow at him and nodded her head at the kitchen. He looked over for a second and his shoulders slumped.

He made his way through the kids and let Jordan down to go play some more. "I'm too late?"

"You're too late. I even asked her to wait, and her exact quote was 'You take care of Almond Joy and let me take care of my family, dear. I do this because I love being able to do provide for my family, not because I feel I have to. But thank you for thinking of me.' After that, food making commenced."

"Dang. I really wanted to do this for her, but there was just so much going on out there..."

"It's not your fault people needed help, Clark. I am, of course, proud of you for spending so much time on Christmas helping people. It's likely that if Martha had gotten here and you'd already started cooking that she'd have muscled you out and done the rest herself."

Clark laughed and pulled her into a hug. "There are very few people in the world that can muscle me anywhere, and most of the women that can are in this house."

"Yeah, and tops on that list is Lois Lane Kent."

"Sorry, you're third."

She pushed her way out of his hug and looked up at him. "Third? I'm your wife!"

"It's chronological! First there was mom, then Chloe, then you and some others. I can't really help when I met you guys. Now, if you want me to make a new list how well people can muscle me around, you'll be at the top. Well, Jordan may come first, but that's kind of like 1A and 1B, really."

"I can live with being second to my daughter. And my son, once he's born. Any future children, really. But after them..." She let her words trail off and pointed a finger up at him playfully.

"Well, since I have your permission, I'm putting all eight of our future children ahead of you now to save myself some time."

Lois coughed a couple times, looking at him incredulously. "_Eight_? Jesus, I'm already thirty five and only working on our second! Do you expect me to be popping kids out at fifty?"

"Whoa there," Clark said, placing a hand on each of her arms. "I was joking. If we Almond Joy is the last baby we have, I'm still the luckiest man alive."

Lois bit her lip and calmed herself down a second before speaking. "See, your joking sounded way too much like your _not_ joking. I have nothing against big families, but I've just never imagined myself with a big family. Plus, the age thing... I just don't want to be one of those parents where people have to guess if I'm the mom of the grandma."

"Just to make sure you understand, I want the same sized family you want. If we stop with Almond Joy, I'm still a very happy man. How about we forget that by joking I freaked you out and just keep on enjoying Christmas."

Lois seriously doubted that she was going to be able to put things out of her head completely, since she'd never been able to, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and wrapped her arms around Clark again. That did seem to make it easier to not think about his joke sending her into crazy land. Candy Land was much better than crazy land.

Ok, that thought officially put her in crazy land. Dang board games that her daughter could beat her at were not real places, no matter how tasty candy sounded.

A couple hours and half a stocking full of candy later, Lois took her seat at the dinner table as Bruce put the ten pound turkey and a ham at the end of the table where she, Chloe and Clark were sitting and another ham and some sliced turkey down with everybody else.

"We're not going to eat THAT much, Bruce."

"After Thanksgiving and you and Lois being further along in your pregnancies, along with Clark being Clark, Martha and I both thought that an entire turkey and ham for the three of you might be too little." Bruce smiled as Lois glared at him, and she noticed her cousin doing the same. "As I've always believed, it's better to have too much than too little. Everybody can have leftovers when they go home tonight."

Lois ceased her glare and shrugged, not minding the leftovers idea. Getting to eat this great cooking for another meal or three would be her pleasure. She looked over at Chloe, who had also ceased her glare. She must have gone through the same leftovers thought process.

"Fine, fine. May we eat?"

"I think it would be wasteful not to. Enjoy the meal, everybody. Merry Christmas."

Another two hours later, Lois was sitting on the couch with Clark watching all the children.

"I am so full. Why did you let me eat that much, Smallville?" She heard a scoff come from her left side. She wanted to frown at him, but that was way too much effort at this point.

"Let you? Had I tried to stop you I probably would have lost a finger, hand or entire arm. I prefer for Jordan to not see her mother eating her father's appendages. And now that I say that, I feel as if I've heard that said on television before to numerous pregnant women."

Lois flopped an arm over on his stomach as they watched Jordan and the other kids play a game on the floor. It was as close as the could get to smacking his stomach with the back of her hand for even suggesting something like that, even if she had eaten enough to feed a small army. Having seen small armies eat, she was a bit of an expert on the subject.

"I would not have eaten you. I may have nibbled a bit, but I probably would have broken my teeth on you had I tried anything more than nibbling." She paused for a moment, considering what she just said. "We've truly moved on to having conversations that start at ridiculous and just go from there, haven't we?"

"Moved on to? That's where we started, Lo. We never would have made it as a couple had we tried to be normal or stick to the mundane. I seriously doubt either of us could if we tried."

"Yeah, well, I have nothing to say to that so I'm just going to lean over on you and fall asleep."

"Enjoy yourself."

She leaned over and rested her head on his shoulder, sighing contentedly as she got comfortable and let her eyes close. He really was a human sized sleeping pill, though not really a pill. More like a big, sleeping osmosis thing that she absorbed with her skin and...

"Lois. Hey, Lo."

Lois stretched and opened her eyes, giving them a second to focus on Clark's face. She looked down when she felt something resting on her legs, and found Jordan's head resting there, the rest of her curled up on the couch.

"How long have I been asleep, Smallville?"

"A few hours. I had to go out and help a few people, so Bruce and Chloe just let you sleep. Once Jordan started with the drowsy, they got her settled with you. Apparently you woke up when it happened, though Chloe should have known better than to think you'd remember it."

Clark moved over to her other side and gently picked Jordan up, getting her settled on an arm with her head on his shoulder. He offered her a hand to help her up and she took, getting pulled up onto her feet. After a second she followed him into the dining room where Bruce, Chloe and Jack were sitting.

"How was your nap, Lo?"

"Good. Feel rested enough to get driven home and fall asleep."

"Speaking of sleep," Chloe said as she looked over to Jack, "I think it's time for all people of single digit ages to be headed up to bed." In response, Jack yawned. "I rest my case. Come on, Jack, let's go." Chloe stood up and walked around to Jack, who didn't appear to be putting up a fight this time. Lois got a quick hug from each as they passed by and Bruce walked them to the front door.

"Thanks, Bruce. Christmas was as great as always."

"We're always happy to host. We'll see you guys tomorrow for lunch, right?"

"Yeah, probably. Give us a call and we'll figure out where we can all meet up."

After Clark got Jordan situated in her car seat, they headed out. Lois settled back into her seat, yawning before she leaned forward and turned on the radio so she had something to listen to and keep her awake. Unfortunately, all she could seem to find was Christmas carols and soft rock. She turned it off and looked at Clark.

"Talk to me, Smallville, or else you won't just be carrying Jordan up to the apartment."

"Alright, uh, when I was making a save earlier I actually had to pull orphans from a fire."

"Dear God that's sad."

After a few more sad stories of people losing houses to fires and others getting mugged, they were parked and headed up to the apartment. Lois leaned on Clark as he unlocked the door and walked in. She closed the door and locked it as he took Jordan to put her in her bed. She tossed her coat on the back of a chair as she walked to their bedroom, stifling another yawn. This is what she got for letting her daughter wake her up at six in the morning then eating a large part of a turkey.

She quickly got changed into her sleeping clothes and was already under the covers when Clark walked in. "Ready for more sleep, Lo?"

"Very much so. Mind changing quickly?"

A blink of the eye later, Clark was laying next to her. "Quick enough?"

Lois smiled and snuggled into him. "Barely, Smallville."

Three Nights Later

With a grunt, Lois woke up as she felt something compress her legs down into the mattress before letting them be comfortable again. Looking up through lidded eyes, she found Jordan crawling up on the bed between her and Clark.

"Hey, what are you doing, baby girl?"

"I couldn't sleep."

"I gathered that." Lois moved herself over a little bit and let Jordan tuck herself in against her body. What with her stomach sticking out in front of her as it was, she was surprised Jordan could accomplish such a thing comfortably. "Listen, before you get too comfy, how about we go lay down in your bed."

"Ok."

Lois pulled herself up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, scratching at her forehead as Jordan climbed down off the bed and ran off towards her room.

"What's going on, Lo?"

She looked back over at Clark, who'd spoken without opening his eyes. "Jordan woke up and couldn't get back to sleep. I'm going to go lay down with her until she falls back asleep."

"You want me to go now that I'm up? I'm used to these kinds of nights."

"You sleep. It's the first night all week you haven't been out helping somebody. And as I've said on previous occasions, I don't mind doing these types of things for my daughter." Lois pushed herself up off the bed and cracked her neck.

"Alright. See you in the morning."

She heard him roll over, and after a second of debate she walked over to the dresser and tapped it a couple times, opening the secret drawer and pulled out the diary. She closed it as quietly as she could and walked out of the room, heading to Jordan's room through the darkness of the living room.

Lois found Jordan already laying in bed, eyes open and pointing at the door as she waited for her. "Sorry, was I taking too long?"

Jordan nodded and Lois sat down on the bed, getting situated as Jordan snuggled up to her much as she had in the other bed. She wrapped an arm around her daughter, looking down as Jordan rested her head on her chest much the same way she did most nights on Clark's. Weird thing to get passed down.

"I love you, Jordan. Sleep well."

"Goodnight, mommy."

A few minutes later, Jordan was out like a light and Lois was shaking her head. She couldn't remember, at least not clearly, ever running to her mom for comfort and being able to fall asleep that quickly. She definitely didn't remember running to the General and getting any comfort, because all she got the few times she tried that was a 'Be strong, little Lo, and you'll be fine' before she was sent back to bed. Lucy had just started going to her, and she'd done the best she could at the time.

Pushing the depressing memories out of her head, she was just glad that she could be there for her baby girl. That had always been something she'd wondered if she could do, being comforting. It had never been her strong suit at any age. It was just something that had never come naturally to her, at least not before now. Jordan made things easy, though. She didn't seem to mind that her mom was three shades of crazy.

Six weeks and three days. Four, if she wanted to be technical and say a new day started at midnight. How had she adjusted to all this... happiness, with so much ease? She hadn't even ever investigated whether or not this could be a setup. It was too good. At this point, if it was a dream, she didn't care and she didn't want to wake up.

Smiling, Lois felt the diary, still in her hand. Apparently holding something wasn't enough to keep her from forgetting it these days. Using her one free hand, she opened up the diary and flipped to the page after the last one she had read. When she saw the date, she got confused for a moment and flipped back to check the date of the last entry. It said what she remembered, and there was nothing between the two... what had happened?

August 20th, 2020

I lost the diary. Don't ask me how, if you could, but I managed to lose this thing until a few days ago when I was helping Clark clean up the apartment for Jordan's birthday party today. Somehow my diary, of all things, got tossed in with pots and pans out in the kitchen, hidden amongst junk I never use. Good way for me not to find it.

Maybe Jordan got a hold of it at some point, who knows. One way or another, the thing ended up hidden and hasn't been written in since Jordan turned one and I threw in a short little entry. You know this, of course, since you probably just checked to make sure that you hadn't missed something when the dates went from August 19, 2019 to August 19, 2020. Guess that means you want to know what's happened in the last year.

Nothing. From birthday to birthday, it has been the slowest year in history. I appreciate the fact that nothing catastrophic or crazy has happened, because it's given me plenty of time to spend with Jordan, but it also makes being a reporter much more difficult than it used to be.

Leading the way in nothing happening was Lex. No attempts to kill Superman, no attempts to swindle old folks out of their money, nothing. As much as I like silence on the Luthor front, it makes me a little uneasy. If history is any indication, a quiet Luthor is a planning Luthor, and his plans never mean anything good for anybody, not even him at times.

What else. Intergang has been quiet, which is always nice. Haven't heard anything from Toyman, Parasite, Metallo or anybody else since Jordan's last birthday. Always a plus, and again, a bit disquieting. Clark says that all the quiet from the big bad's is refreshing, but I know that he's just as curious about what's actually going on as I am.

Of course, we could just be paranoid from our (way too many) years dealing with super powered crazies, both here and in Smallville, but I like to think that we've learned from all that. Plus, we're journalists. If we take everything at face value, what the hell are we going to put in our articles?

In non bad guy news, Chloe and her family are doing well. The twins turned two last December and had a nice party thrown for them. Let me tell you, that was a cold flight to Gotham. Even wrapped up in a blanket like Clark insisted, and with Jordan snug against me, there was still a decent chill. Jordan, enjoying flight as she does, dozed off a couple minutes after we took off and didn't notice her mother's teeth chattering.

Anyway, that was a good evening. Jack's sixth birthday was also a lot of fun, and a bit warmer, too. He had a bunch of his friends over from school, so Clark and I got to interact with other parents. Most of them commented on how nice it was that we would fly in from Metropolis to celebrate Jack's birthday. Unfortunately, they all said it so... condescendingly, when we had to tell them we flew coach.

Poor Chloe. She and Bruce have Jack going to a private school in Gotham, and as such most of the parents of his friends are rich and snooty. We met a few that were nice people, very personable and whatnot, but a lot of them were living the cliché. They have lots of money, and those that don't are doing something wrong or just don't care enough about their lives. I was fighting the urge to hit people upside the head that whole afternoon.

Once all the kids had gone, though, we settled into a nice evening with the Wayne's. We had a dinner of Jack's choosing, which was cheeseburgers, and even watched a couple Disney movies before Jack finally conked out for the night. Clark and I were spending the night there, so once all the kids were out for the night we had a nice evening of conversation. Well, Chloe and I did. Clark and Bruce seemed content to listen to us, despite our want for them to get involved.

Apparently, and with Clark saying this I hardly find it to be likely, but apparently we speak too quickly and change topic too often when we're together for them to keep up. I think they were just using that as an excuse to ogle their wives. Not that I have a problem with Clark's eyes on me, as I proved to him later that night, but I like for them to be involved in the conversation with us. I know Clark can keep up, because he's done it for years, so I think they were being lazy. Slackers.

So, other happenings... it was two years since I had forgotten in March. It was six years since the Cinco de Mayo incident in May. Two years since I started writing in here again in June. And then we come to Jordan's birthday today.

It's hard to have a real birthday party for a two year old kid. She doesn't interact with a lot of other kids that aren't Jack, Aly and Liz. We're having the 'party' this weekend, since her birthday is on a Wednesday this year, but mostly it will just be family. Chloe, Bruce and their brood are flying in, Martha is driving in on Friday and going to meet us at the Planet and the General is coming in Saturday. Going to be a busy week for him, because he's currently in France spending time with Lucy and her boys.

Saturday is going to be cake, ice cream and presents for Jordan, who I hope will realize all the fuss is for her. Since she's two, I think she'll just be happy to see people, assuming she even remembers that the General is her grandfather. Fortunately, she isn't shy with people she doesn't know (that may come back to bite me in later years) so she won't be crying every time the General holds her (that used to happen a lot with the twins and the General).

You know, it occurs to me that I'm writing the General a lot, while what I always call him now is daddy. I called him the General when I first woke up without my memory, but not long after I noticed how much time and circumstance had changed him into a softer, more fatherly figure, like the one I remember from when mom was alive, and he's been daddy ever since. I should really start writing that.

Tangent aside, it's been a good year. I don't think I value anything more than spending time with my daughter and my husband, and I've had a lot of that since Jordan turned one. Unexpected amounts, really, and I've enjoyed it. Add into that time with family and it's been one of the better years I can remember, even if it did technically start in August.

Hell, I don't even mind the slow times at the Planet. I wonder what's coming next, what's coming in the future, but I think the major difference is that I don't worry about it anymore. Where as thinking about the future used to annoy me, if not plain depress me to the point of not doing it anymore, thinking about the future now almost leaves me with a sense of hope.

I guess perspective is everything. If I had a different life, I would have a different perspective and see the future differently. Fortunately, my life is the way it is, and I can be hopeful. Who ever thought that the cynical Lois Lane would ever be hopeful?

Hopeful. Lois yawned and put the diary down on the floor next to Jordan's bed, realizing just how hopeful she'd become so recently. She liked it, a lot. With one more yawn, Lois settled into the bed a little, feeling Jordan still resting on her, and fell asleep feeling a whole lot of hope flow through her as AJ kicked.

Three Days Later

"New Years without alcohol. I just can't get it to work in my head." Lois looked down at her glass of non-alcoholic champagne and sighed.

"You don't say, cuz. I think it's odd that you felt the need to say that three times in the last hour."

"I think it's odd that you're counting. And excuse me for being all confused. I don't remember any New Years without alcohol, if I've had any."

"You had one when you were pregnant with Jordan, but that was partly because nobody else was drinking. The twins were a month old so I wasn't drinking, Bruce wasn't drinking while I wasn't drinking, and Clark was so in an out of the place that he didn't have time to drink. You didn't feel like it anyway since you had no idea what was going on with your own body, and you'd been tired due to Jordan being secretly in-utero."

Lois sipped at her 'champagne,' looked at it a second and then put it down on the table. She walked into Chloe's kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge, taking the cap off and drinking a little bit as she walked back to Chloe. "Did I comment on it then?"

"Maybe once or twice, but there was no obsessing over it like you are tonight. Like I said, you were basically four weeks pregnant at that point and had that oh-so-fun early pregnancy exhaustion that had you off enough to not drink. You were content to have a quiet evening with us and barely seemed to notice."

"Huh." Lois drank a little more water and looked around the room at the people attending the party. Mostly it was people from work, people she could name but didn't really know anything about. Clark was in a conversation with a guy that he looked like he'd known forever. Kind of a short guy that seemed to smile a lot.

Clark caught her staring at them and started guiding him over, causing Lois to bite her lip in consternation. Up until this point, she'd been able to avoid having to meet anybody new and engage in that annoying thing called small talk, but it seemed her luck had run out. Clark smiled at her as they stopped in front of her and Chloe. Chloe apparently knew him because she took a step forward and hugged him.

"It's so good to see you again, Pete."

Pete. That name sounded familiar. Was this the Pete that Chloe had mentioned the day she'd woken up without her memory? The way he and Clark got along like old friends, it certainly seemed like a possibility. She smiled and shook his hand when he offered it.

"Hi, I'm Pete Ross. I was sorry to hear you lost your memory again. How're you doing?"

"Considering everything, a lot better than I thought I would be when the year 2022 was about to start."

Pete smiled at her. "I know what you mean. After I left Smallville I didn't know what my future could possibly hold, but it's been good to me."

"What do you do?"

"I'm a state senator and running for Governor."

Lois had certainly not expected to hear that. She'd heard of a Pete Ross that had announced his candidacy for the Gubernatorial election coming up, but she'd never seen a picture and certainly hadn't thought that the Pete from Clark's childhood would be the same guy.

"I can tell you weren't expecting that."

Lois snapped out of her thoughts and felt her cheeks heat up and she smiled at him. "Sorry. I was getting the fact that a Pete I heard mentioned once, and not even from Clark even though he's his oldest friend, situated in my head." She raised an eyebrow at Clark. "Once again, Smallville, this is something you should have told me."

"I know, and I'm sorry. It never even crossed my mind until Chloe told me he was going to be here tonight. In my defense, I've been occupied with other things."

"Being occupied with me is no excuse for not mentioning you know a Gubernatorial candidate personally. You're going to make this one up to me for a good long while. I can see it now... yes, I think that you'll be doing most of the moving next weekend while I relax with Jordan."

"I think you were planning that anyway."

"Be that as it may, now I have an excuse that isn't pregnancy or laziness. Thank you."

"Here to help."

A couple hours of mingling later, Lois and Clark were standing in the livingroom with a dozen other people watching the countdown to the new year. Lois looked up at Clark. "Remind me to thank Martha for watching all the kids when we get back to the apartment later tonight."

"You think she'll be awake? Usually she falls asleep with Jordan in her room while reading her a bedtime story. With Chloe's kids there too, I think it's a safe bet she'll be sleeping like the others. You can thank her in the morning, though."

She nodded, then smiled as the countdown got to ten. Closing her eyes, she said goodbye to the year that had introduced her to her daughter, had shown her that happiness was something she was allowed to have and let her feel love for a man that loved her.

"Three, two, one... happy new year!"

Lois threw some confetti up in the air before looking up at Clark again, smiling softly as he leaned down and kissed her.

"Happy new year, Lois. I love you."

"Happy new year, Smallville. I love you too."


	57. Chapter 57

---- Chapter 57

Lois walked through the empty living room, looking at all the space that they were going to have to fill up starting that weekend. Four bedrooms in the main part of the house, one of which Clark told her would be an office, a living room larger than Chloe's and a den to go along with it, not to mention a basement with a huge living room area and a couple rooms of its own. The place was massive!

She found Clark leaning against a kitchen counter watching her, and she walked over to him. "How in the world are we going to fill this place, Smallville?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this is a very large house! Our bedroom, Jordan's room, the office, the living room, and what will be AJ's room will all be covered. We'll need a big, nice looking table for the formal looking dining room, stuff for the den and a whole boatload of junk to go into that second home that passes for a basement. Seriously, it's almost as big as the apartment we're leaving behind. How did we even afford this place?"

"We got a good deal, Lo. With all the offers you've had from papers trying to woo you away from the Planet, you make probably half again what a highly overpaid journalist does, which is what we both are. Plus, there's a reason it's a thirty year mortgage and not four, though I do prefer to pay it off sooner rather than later. Interest is a killer."

Lois crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back against the counter across from Clark, staring out at the unadorned house. It was a great place. With all the houses around it being just as big, though, why the hell had Chloe needed to get theirs remodeled? "Did I at least have a plan for how we were going to make sure there weren't huge empty spaces in here before I forgot?"

"You did."

She looked over at him when he didn't speak again. "And it was... what?"

"Buy a whole bunch of stuff."

"Was I also on crack? We get pregnant, buy a giant home and then go on a spending spree? Yeah, people generally spend money on new things when they buy a new house, but this is going to be a LOT of new things. That's like the anti-smart in basic economics."

"Why are you..." She raised an eyebrow as he trailed off and a look of understanding came over him. "Of course you're confused about all this stuff. You have no idea how much money we've saved over the years and think we're gonna go belly up if we're not careful." Clark walked over and leaned up next to her, nudging her lightly with his shoulder.

"Look, I told you how much this place cost. What I didn't tell you is that we have enough in our savings to put down more than a third now and be fine with buying enough stuff to fill this place to the brim."

"Really?"

"Really. We've been pretty frugal over the years for no other reason than we wanted to be able to do something just like this if the need arose. Thus, here we are, lots of money down and money to buy stuff, too."

Lois looked back out at the empty house with new eyes. Instead of an empty house, she saw a house soon to be full of good things that would make the house a great place for her family. "Yeah, this house is going to be great."

"That's exactly what you said when we found it. Had that same look on your face, too. But, we made a deal. You got to do whatever you wanted with the main house, meaning this floor and upstairs, while the basement is mine."

She nodded, thinking about what exactly she wanted to do with the place. "Seems fair enough. You've had longer to figure out what you want to do with it, so what are your plans?"

"How do you feel about pool tables?"

"Love 'em. It's going to be a pleasure beating you at every opportunity."

"Hey, that's... probably true. For a guy with super powers, I am surprisingly bad at the game. But, I do think that I at least have an edge while you're pregnant."

Lois grinned up at him. "We'll see." With a glance at her watch, she sighed. "We should probably get going back to the Planet, Smallville. Perry never seems all that happy when we take a two hour lunch, and we're already headed that way."

Lois walked out to their car, waiting for Clark as he locked the door behind him and walked over to the car. She shook her head as he opened the car door for her, getting in as she rolled her eyes at his old fashioned sensibilities. When he got in, they took off back towards the Planet. Lois watched the Metropolis suburbs give way to the currently brown land between them and the city. She sat back in her seat, looking over at Clark as he drove.

"Here's a phrase no one wants to utter: what happened next in my life after your ordeal with Lex?"

He was quiet a second before speaking. "Twenty nine months of quiet."

"What? Nothing worth mentioning happened for nearly two and a half years? How is that possible, what with me being me and all my diving into things without looking?"

Clark shrugged as they exited off the highway and turned into the city. "I don't know. After Lex took his shot at Superman in early 2019, he kind of went into a remission of evil activities. It wasn't even that he wasn't trying anything evil, he just kind of stayed out of the public eye for a while. Completely anti-Luthor behavior."

"No kidding," Lois mumbled as she thought back to the diary. In August of 2020 she'd said that Lex had been laying low, but she didn't think that it would have lasted another year. "What could have prompted that?"

"Nobody knows. He doesn't answer questions about that time, except to say that it was very refreshing and a good period of growth for LexCorp, which it was. Not that he needed the extra revenue, but that's what happened."

Lois frowned and watched the passing buildings for a moment before Clark parked the car. Getting out, she rubbed at a twinge in her back before joining Clark as they walked into the building. "Twenty nine months, Smallville?"

"Twenty nine months, Lo."

They shuffled into the elevator with a couple other people, and after five floors were all by themselves again. Lois watched the floor numbers flashing as she spoke. "I guess, much like those years where you were traveling or training, whatever, I'll get filled in on that long blank stretch of time later. Right now, how about you relay the next major event."

The elevator doors slid open and they walked out into the bullpen, weaving through traffic until they got to their office, where they both took off their coats and hung them up. Lois walked over and stood behind her chair, staring blankly at her desk. "What do we have to work on?"

Clark sat down and flipped through some papers before looking up at her and spreading his hands out. "Nothing. We have no investigations and Perry hasn't assigned us anything. Doesn't mean he won't, but I think we probably could have spent more time at the house."

"Yeah, that occurred to me." Lois pulled her chair out, then thought about it a second before pushing it back in. "I'm going to see what Chloe's up to. Why don't you talk to Perry about stories. If he's got nothing, I say we actually go get some food instead of spending more time looking at the new digs."

"Digs? Really?"

"You heard me."

Lois walked out of the office and spanned the few feet to Chloe's office in a few steps. She knocked on the door once before walking in. "Hey Chlo, you wanna... whoops."

Lois winced as she caught an eye full of Chloe making out with Bruce behind her desk. Apparently they hadn't heard her knock, and certainly hadn't heard her speak as she walked in. Seeing a chance for revenge from the times Chloe had walked in on her and Clark, Lois smiled and cleared her throat. Nothing.

She cleared it a little more loudly. Still nothing. Jesus, did they lose the ability to hear when they kissed? She gave up on the throat clearing and just went to loud speaking.

"Hey!"

That snapped them out of it and Lois grinned as they broke apart, Chloe's face flushing more than it already was. Bruce looked calm and composed, as always, but this was one of the few times she could remember him not making eye contact right away. As good a sign as any that he was embarrassed. She spoke to them before they could say anything.

"Bruce, I'm sorry that I had to interrupt you two, but since Chloe felt the need to do the same to Clark and I a few times recently... well, you know how we are."

Chloe spoke before Bruce could. "Hey, you guys were always... I mean, this isn't the same thing..." Chloe trailed off, and with a dramatic sigh her head fell so she was looking at the floor. "Yeah, guess I should have seen this coming."

"Think of it this way: you're down to me only owing you two interruptions now."

"Well, that makes me happier than I was kissing my husband. Wait, no, that's a big fat lie." Chloe crossed her arms and cocked an eyebrow at her, forcing Lois to laugh.

"Be as indignant as you want, Chlo, but it's going to happen. Now, what I was going to ask, before I found you two connected at the lips, was if you were too busy to go get some lunch."

"We already ate, and before you make any jokes about eating each others lips, we ate lunch and we were just saying goodbye... by eating each others lips. Didn't you two go out for lunch and just get back like, three seconds ago?"

Lois shrugged. "We only grabbed a quick bite, nothing filling, because he took me to see the house. First time I actually got to see the inside."

"Don't you, you know, have to work?"

"Clark's looking into that. We don't have any investigations going at the moment, despite the fact that we probably could and should have started something since we published the city council story. Perry didn't assign us anything today either, so it hasn't exactly been the busiest day."

"Yes, well, some of us have work to do. I don't know why I was the one to get it, but Perry gave me the mushy piece on the ten guys starting on their group new years resolution to... uh..." Chloe looked up at Bruce and smiled sheepishly. "What'd I say it was?"

"The gentlemen resolved to raise money for AIDS research by walking from New York City to Los Angeles. They'll pass through Metropolis on the way, incidentally."

"Yes, well, that's when I get to do a follow up. Depending on how long it takes them, I may be on maternity leave by then. How long should it take to walk from New York to Metropolis?"

"I have no idea, cuz. Anyway, I'm going to go see Clark and find out if we have anything that we need to do. Enjoy yourselves."

Lois walked out of Chloe's office and shut the door behind her, allowing them to start up with their fun again as she walked back into her own office, only to find it empty. She turned around and walked back out, heading over to Perry's office. She walked in and found him sitting behind his desk.

"Has Clark been here?"

Perry looked up from whatever he was doing and frowned at her. "You'll never knock, will you?"

"Seems like a waste of time since I'll come in anyway."

"Of course. No, I haven't seen Clark. Generally the only people that ever know where he is are you and Chloe, and even then most of the time it's just you."

Lois smiled at him and leaned forward, her hands resting on the back of a chair. "I guess he got sidetracked. I asked him to come over here and ask you if you had anything you needed to assign since we're currently without anything to write. Since we do it for a living, we get bored if we come to the office and just sit around."

Perry scoffed. "You get bored if you come to the office and write your story. If you could do your writing while in the middle of investigating the next story, I'd never see you."

"Hey! While that used to be true, I am now content to not put myself in mortal harm for every story. Now it's every third or fourth investigation that requires me to be in a dangerous situation, and I find having a partner that isn't Chloe doesn't hold me back like I thought it would. Also helps that he's quite resourceful in a jam when people think they can bully a mild mannered reporter and his wife."

"Well, I'm sure Clark was happy to hear that you only require mortal peril in a third of your stories now, if you told him that." Lois bit her lip and looked away, and she heard Perry grunt. "I figured as much. Anyway, unless you want to cover sports, I don't have anything for you right now. You could always pair up with Chloe on her piece about the walking guys."

"That depends on if Chloe is still... busy. Also, I guess I'll wait on Clark before horning in on her story."

"Something's bound to come up, Lois. Be patient. Yes, I know I'm talking to you about being patient."

Lois rolled her eyes and walked out of the office to the sounds of Perry talking about her lack of patience. She made her way back across the office and to her office where after rifling through a couple of her drawers she found the loose change she always kept around. She shoved it into her pocket and made her way across the office once again, fighting through a traffic jam around the lifestyles section of writers and finally got to the snack machines.

A buck and a half for a bag of chips. Unbelievable.

Popping a chip in her mouth, Lois walked back, but instead of going into her own office she once again knocked on Chloe's door, this time loudly and waiting for an answer.

"Come on in, Lo."

She did just that, opening the door and walking in as she chewed on another chip. She made a show of looking around, grinning as she noticed Chloe rolling her eyes. "Sorry, I just wanted to make sure that Bruce wasn't hiding somewhere."

"He left just after you did. Where's Clark?"

"No idea. He never made it to Perry's office, so I assume he's out doing his thing somewhere. If it's in Metropolis, I may have something to do today."

"Lois Lane Kent without a story. What _is_ the world coming to?"

Lois shook her head. "Nothing good, Chlo. Nothing good." She leaned over and offered Chloe the open chip bag, and Chloe took a few before saying thanks and sitting back in her chair. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Lois got bored and decided to strike up a conversation. Plus, this had been bugging her ever since Clark said it. "Was there really twenty nine months of nothing happening?"

"What?"

"After Clark recovered from being attacked by Lex and his goons, was there really twenty nine months of nothing major happening in my life, or at least nothing worth a story?"

"I, uh..." Chloe trailed off and started counting on her fingers for a moment before she looked back up. "Yeah, I guess twenty nine is about right." She shrugged. "It was a really quiet time. I guess the quiet before the storm, really, because the end of that twenty nine months is August of last year."

"Last year is six days ago."

"That's what I hear."

Lois rolled her eyes. "What's the next thing happening, then?"

Chloe sat back a minute, appearing to think about the question. "I would guess what Clark was talking about is Almond Joy. Our respective fetuses were both conceived that month. Heck, our fetuses were conceived the same week."

"That seems like it would be difficult to determine."

"Not really. Since Bruce and I were trying for our as of yet unnamed baby, we knew when I was ovulating. That makes it easy to figure out the rough date of conception for us, and since you and Clark had sex sans condom all of once, yours was REALLY easy to figure out."

"There's something Clark didn't tell me. When did he and I do it the old fashioned way?" Lois frowned when she realized what she had said. Old fashioned way?

Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Old fashioned way?"

"Yeah, I know. I said it before I thought about it, but it fits. Birth control and the like is a very recent thing, in the grand scheme of things. Therefore, the old fashioned way."

"Ok then. Yeah, why I can remember this and couldn't remember what the guys had done for their pledge earlier, who knows, but your night of doing it 'the old fashioned way,'" Chloe said with air quotes on the last part that made Lois sigh, "was August 8th."

"It is weird you remember that, but I appreciate it. Who knows when I'll see Clark again today." Just then, AJ kicked. Lois looked down at her stomach a second before looking back up. It wasn't exactly a rumbling tummy, but it did remind her she was hungry. "And really, I don't feel like paying for another bag of chips just to want another thirty seconds after I finish it."

She walked over to Chloe's phone and picked it up, dialing as she held the receiver between her ear and shoulder.

"Feel free to use my phone."

"Thanks. You want anything from Panda House?"

"Ooh, yeah, I'll take an order of kung pao shrimp, two egg rolls and an order of wontons."

Lois nearly dropped the phone when she heard all the food that Chloe wanted. "I asked you ten minutes ago if you wanted to go to lunch with Clark and I and you said that you'd just eaten."

"Well, that's true, but Chinese sounds good. Gimme a break, you act like you haven't eaten like crazy recently."

Lois was about to respond when the place finally answered. "Panda House, how may I help you?"

"I need to place a delivery order, please."

"Go ahead."

"Alright, I need an order of kung pao shrimp, an order of orange peel beef, an order of hunan beef, six egg rolls and two orders... no, three orders of wontons, please."

"Address?"

"Daily Planet, ask for Chloe Wayne at the front desk."

"Alright, your total is $43.42 before tip, should be there in about half an hour.

Lois hung up the phone and walked back around Chloe's desk, sitting down and crossing her arms over her chest. "You'd think that they could have cut down on how long food takes to be made and delivered in the years I can't remember."

"How long is it supposed to take?"

"Thirty minutes." Lois frowned at the blonde when she rolled her eyes. "Hey, I'm raising a valid point."

"No, you're hungry and impatient. As many learned when people in the 50's thought that we'd have flying cars by the year 2000, change comes slowly. Even with it being the year 2022, some things will never change, and I assume you being impatient and food taking a half hour to get made and be delivered are two of those things."

"I can be patient," Lois mumbled, "I just don't think I should have to wait for things that should be done more quickly."

Half an hour later, Lois had joined in on Chloe's AIDS walkers article. Lois had smiled when Chloe said that she didn't mind sharing a byline with her again, though they both wished that it was on something more substantial then a touchy-feely story, despite their admiration for the guys. The Chlo-Lo connection had broken big stories back in the day, or so she was told. She believed it.

They were able to kill time well until the front desk called up to say that a delivery man was there for Chloe. They had him come up, and a few minutes later they were digging in to the food.

"Hey, why'd you order the hunan chicken and third thing of wontons?"

Lois swallowed a bite of egg roll before answering. "Hunan chicken for Clark, if he comes back here or when he gets home, and the wontons are for Jordan. She really loves those things, something she and her mother share." Lois popped one in her mouth to accentuate the point.

"Hey! What'd I miss?"

Lois looked back over her shoulder as Clark walked into the office, smiling at both of them. "Smallville, nice of you to join us. Where'd you go?"

"Five alarm fire in Chicago that was starting to exceed the firefighters abilities to fight and threatening housing. I was able to stop it before it ruined any residences." He looked at all the food eagerly. "Did you get me anything?"

Lois pointed at one of the unopened containers with her fork. "Hunan chicken. I guess you can have some of the wontons I ordered for Jordan, but I would like for her to get some since she likes them so much."

He grabbed the last plastic fork and leaned back against the wall as he started eating. "So, guess I'll try this question again: I miss anything?"

Lois shook her head and spoke around a bite of her orange peel beef. "Not really. Perry still doesn't have anything for us, so I joined up with Chloe on a story about the guys that are walking from New York of Los Angeles to raise money for AIDS research."

Clark sighed dramatically as has swallowed a bite of his food. "I leave and the Chlo-Lo connection rides again? I should have known to try and keep you busy, Lo, or else you would ditch me for somebody else to get into craziness with."

"Keep me busy?" Lois rolled her eyes and moved around in her seat a little to find a more comfortable position. "What possible craziness could come from this story?"

Clark raised an eyebrow at her. "Are you trying that defense? Alright, what possible craziness could come from you two covering the opening of a new retirement home back in mid-2009?" Lois shrugged at him. "Exactly. There should be none, yet somehow you two managed to stumble into a mistreatment of the elderly story that encompassed three retirement homes in Metropolis."

"That's just having a good nose for news, Clark," Chloe said, and Lois nodded in agreement.

"Nose for trouble is more like it. I had to save you two from the owner of the homes that wanted to shut the two of you up for good so he could make his profit and do nothing to earn it."

Lois looked over at Chloe, who just shrugged and nodded, seeming to agree with him. Lois did the same, and that seemed to placate Clark into eating without further comment on their proclivity towards finding trouble and jumping into it. She wasn't ashamed to admit that she did jump into some stories without a plan, especially if it was something that she stumbled into, and that happened more often than not.

"Alright, our nose for news, trouble and whatever else aside, how about we get into the story that I requested earlier. It feels like things are being dragged out unnecessarily before we get to it."

"Am I allowed to finish my food first, or should I just speak around it?"

"Around it, Smallville."

He shrugged and took another bite, chewing for a moment and smiling at her before speaking. She glared at him as she bit down on an egg roll. He swallowed before speaking.

"Sunday, August 8th. A day which will live in... well, a day which gave us Almond Joy. Pretty good day in my book."

---

"_Today has sucked, Smallville."_

"_What? It's been fine. There have been some rough patches here and there, but overall we've accomplished, say, half the things we set out to do."_

_Clark had a list thrust into face, making him back up a little from his annoyed wife. Apparently, not being able to get Jordan the presents she wanted to get her eleven days before her birthday was not something that sat well with her._

"_Half the things we set out to do, Smallville? We set out to buy our daughter presents for her third birthday, which is rapidly approaching. We tend to live a busy life, too, and finding a full day for us to be out and shopping for her is difficult."_

_Clark gently took the list from Lois and folded it up before slipping it into his pocket. He took a step forward and looked Lois in the eye. "Everything is going to be fine, Lois. You don't need to stress yourself out about it. If we don't finish today, one of us can shop while the other stays with Jordan."_

"_Yeah, I guess." Lois sighed and leaned forward, letting her head rest against his chest. "I try not to get stressed out, but I want the best for her. I want her to love her childhood, and remember it fondly while I'm forgetting it."_

"_Come on, Lo, don't talk like that."_

_She sighed and pushed back, looking up at him. He had to hold himself back from pulling her into his arms and not letting go for a year or two. The longer she went without forgetting, the more it seemed to creep into his head that this could be the last day she actually did remember. He pushed that to the back of his mind and shook his head a little as he looked down at her._

"_You've stressed out about the last two birthdays, too. Her only birthdays, of course, but you don't need to. Let's see if we can't get more of this shopping done, alright? Stress free, enjoyable shopping, which because it's shopping doesn't really exist, but you know what I mean."_

_She smiled and bit her lip as she looked up at him in that way that made him feel like he was no stronger than any other guy. "Maybe when we get home later, before you go pick up Jordan from the farm, we could do a little stress relief. What do you say... Clarkie?"_

"_I'd say that it's very unfair to start something we can't finish at the moment... Sailor."_

_Her eyes narrowed and she started looking around at everything but him. Clark suddenly realized just how many people were around them and cleared his throat. He wanted to say something, but didn't really have anything to say. Lois finally looked at him again. "Yeah, so I know that list by heart, and you have it, so, uh, why don't we go to opposite ends of the store for half an hour or so?"_

_Half an hour later, they met up at the check out lanes and bought a couple of the things they had wanted to get Jordan for her birthday. It was the fourth store that day since lunch, and as Lois had said, they'd found about half the things they wanted to get her. They'd hoped to have them all by the second. _

_When they got to the car, Clark held Lois's door open for her, then got in the passenger side and placed the bags in the back seat. "Where are we going next?"_

"_Home. At the rate we're going, it'll take three more stores to finish up the shopping and it's already four. I know we didn't start until one, what with me sleeping until ten and you taking Jordan to the farm after lunch, but I've had enough. As much as I love my daughter and doing things that make her happy, I like this plan of one of us staying with her while the other shops."_

"_I assume you'll be the one staying with her."_

_Lois nodded as they pulled out of the parking lot. "I am her mother. It's only right that I be with her as much as possible."_

_Clark bit back a laugh. For some unexplained reason since she'd last forgotten, she just hadn't liked shopping. It was very odd, since she'd only been indifferent to it before the attack. He took a deep breath and released it as he watched the road. "I don't mind doing the birthday shopping. Of course, since Jordan is at the farm during the week and I go get her, we can just let her eat dinner with mom and do the shopping together."_

_She glanced at him, glaring for a second. He smiled at her. "I'm kidding. You don't have to do any more shopping that you want to."_

"_It's not that I don't want to, I just don't want... to. I didn't really think that out before I said it, did I?"_

"_No, doesn't sound like it. Doing things and saying things before you think about them is one of the many reasons I love you, though."_

_A few minutes later, Lois had parked the car and they were riding up to their apartment in the elevator. Clark unlocked the door and led her in, taking the presents they'd bought for Jordan to their room and sticking them up in their closet. It seemed unnecessary, since she was turning three, but Lois had insisted. Apparently their daughter had a healthy inquisitive side and liked to go into their closet and dig around. Made sense with how much Jordan was already starting to sound and act like Lois._

_Once he got the toys situated, Clark pulled off his shoes and pushed them into the corner before walking out of the closet and back into the bedroom. He paused a second before turning and heading towards the balcony, walking out through the door to find Lois sitting in one of the chairs, sipping a beer. He walked over and sat down in the chair next to hers._

"_Where'd you get that?"_

_She took a quick sip before answering. "I picked up a six pack while you were getting Jordan Friday night. They'd actually been intended for the adults at Jordan's party, but I assume we'll probably hit the store between now and then."_

"_That does seem likely, yes." He reached over and took the beer from her, drinking a bit of it before handing it back._

"_I know we've been over this before, Smallville, but why do you drink beer when you get nothing from it? I mean, I know you like the taste, but is it a fitting in thing?"_

"_No, mostly it's just the taste. Mostly the foreign stuff, but I guess that's a holdover from when I was traveling."_

_They sat in silence for a little while, sharing her beer until it was gone and they were just looking out at the horizon of buildings. The sun was starting to touch the tops of the tallest a little way off. He felt a hand entwine in his and looked over to find Lois staring at him._

"_What?"_

"_Thinking about how lucky I've been." She rolled her eyes and looked back out at the buildings. "Lame, yes, but true. You've turned me into one of those women that thinks about how lucky she got."_

"_Am I getting the blame for that? I thought you were giving Jordan credit in that area."_

"_I thought about it, and I was leaning that way for a while, but when it came right down to it, I wouldn't have any of this without you. I keep thinking about things that I've been lucky enough to experience because I fell in love with a man that is unafraid to make me fall in love with him multiple times."_

"_Oh, I'm a little afraid sometimes, especially that first morning when you wake up without your memory. I never know how you're going to react. I've been in the room with you for it happening twice, and the only thing that really compares is disbelief. But, I remember that we're meant to be, and I push it to the back of my mind to focus on you. _

"_It lasts for about three seconds because I'm trying to help you, but the two times it's happened with me there, there's just been that little flash of 'What if she doesn't love you this time?' in the back of my head. Also, it's a little exciting to see your reactions to falling in love with me. Most people don't get that. Not the point, though. I guess we all have that little bit of insecurity that we never quite leave behind, and that little flash of doubt is mine."_

_She looked over at him again and shifted in her chair so that her whole body was facing him. "We do all have our insecurities, yes, but you'll never lose me. Even when I don't have my memory, I'm about three steps away from falling in love with you, and I'm going to keep telling you that until you know it as well as I do." She mad a show of looking him up and down. "Not being mopey really gives you the whole package deal of awesome."_

"_That's what I hear." He grinned and let go of her hand, reaching over to grab her chair and pull her closer to him. When their chairs bumped, he leaned over and kissed her, catching her by surprise if the squeak was any indication. She rarely squeaked. A second later, her mouth melted into his and he was thoroughly enjoying himself._

_She pulled away from him a moment later and he grinned a little more as he took a few deep breaths, and heard her doing the same. "Have to say, you're way may awesome than I could ever hope to be, Lo."_

"_I thought that was a given." She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back in for another round, something he seriously didn't mind. A few minutes later he was being led back into their room by the lips, his arms kind of just spread out wide in a 'What's going on?' kind of gesture. Not the best use of them, probably, but had he tried to use them to pull her closer they wouldn't have made it to the bed. Again._

_He slid the door closed with his foot and they slowly crossed the five feet to the bed, and he spun them as they fell so he wouldn't fall on top of her. This would be one of the least opportune moments for him to squish his wife. There was no opportune time for that, really, and he would avoid it if at all possible._

_Lois starting pulling at his shirt and he raised his arms up above his head, breaking contact with her for a second as it was pulled over his head. He got her shirt off at the same time, not wanting to have to waste time and remove his lips from her again. The less he had to do that, the better. Why hadn't he lived by that theory?_

_He snapped back to what was happening as he felt her hands working at his pants, and he started with the same, but groaned when the annoyingly small buttons on her pants kept slipping through his grip. Why couldn't she wear pants with real buttons on them?_

_His pants were undone and Lois started kissing along his jaw, slowly working toward that spot where..._

_When had they both lost all their clothes? _

"_Why do you always super speed us naked when I kiss you there?"_

_Clark looked up to Lois's face and found her raising an eyebrow at him. He shrugged. "No idea. You'd think that you'd stop kissing me there if you wanted to take some time undressing me."_

"_If I wanted to waste time pulling clothes off of you, I wouldn't kiss you there every time. I like the naked a lot better than the half naked. I was just wondering why that spot causes you to go crazy. I mean, there are any number of things that are better for driving you crazy, say biting your earlobe, or that spot I love where neck meets shoulder or..."_

_Clark pulled Lois down into another searing kiss and soon found himself reaching to Lois's bedside table for a condom. He opened the drawer blindly, not finding himself with the willpower to look away from Lois, and dug around in it for a moment before he finally did have to turn his head and look. He about cried at what he saw._

"_We're out of condoms."_

_Lois frowned and looked at the drawer like it had offended her. She moved off the top of him and he watched her as she dug around in the drawer for herself. He definitely wasn't watching her hands. Clark turned his head away covered his face with his hands, quickly wishing that he hadn't super sped them both naked._

"_Oh for... who cares, Smallville?"_

_He took one hand off his face and eyed her for a moment with one eye. She appeared serious about what she said. She generally was serious about things when she was naked. "Lo, last time we made love without some form of birth control we ended up with a daughter. Granted, you were taking a shot at the time because of what you called baby fever, but still, one time without, one daughter as a result."_

"_Oh come on... Clarkie."_

_Clark gulped and had to hold himself back from pulling her over to him. She was trying to bait him into it, and that was a damn good way to do it. "Lois, we need to..."_

"_If something results from this, Smallville, I'm all right with it."_

_Clark sat up. "What? Are you being serious?"_

"_Yeah, actually." Lois sat back against the headboard, looking at him and smiling softly. "I, uh... actually, I think I'm ready to have another baby. Wow, there's something I never thought I'd say. I'm not saying let's procreate right this minute, but if it were to happen, I'd be happy."_

_Clark worked his jaw a couple times, wondering if he'd heard correctly. Well, of course he'd heard correctly, but what he'd heard didn't seem to be making sense in his head. He hadn't even thought about being ready to add another member to their family himself, let alone if she would be ready to. Maybe his lack of comprehension was because she was naked. It was hard to focus on serious topics when she was naked._

"_Wow. I... are you sure, Lois? Like I said, the one time in our relationship we've done this sans pill or condom, it resulted in a baby. Six weeks from now we could be the parents of a three year old and a six week old embryo."_

_Lois looked away from him and smiled a little wider. She stared off into the distance for a moment before speaking softly. "I think I'd like that, Clark." She looked at him and sighed what he thought was happily. "I think I'd like that a lot."_

_He smiled back at her. "I'd like that too." _

_They sat there and smiled for a minute or two, and suddenly Lois raised and eyebrow at him. "Ya know, if we're actually going to do this, we're going to have to get a little closer to each other."_

"_You have a point, Sailor."_

_Her eyes narrowed and she launched herself at him, and he moved slightly so she wouldn't break herself as she crashed into his chest. Quick even to his eye, she was kissing down his chest and biting his left nipple, quickly licking it afterwards in a soothing gesture. He pulled her up and quickly returned the favor, eliciting a moan from her. _

_In what seemed like a blink but was about ten minutes later, Clark had moved into Lois and was doing his best to move slowly, trying to tease Lois in a way she really enjoyed teasing him most of the time. She growled at him and moved her hips in time with his, giving cues for him to speed up but he refused to do so._

_His mind flashed back to the night they'd made Jordan for a second, to how slowly he'd taken things then because he'd thought Lois just wanted a special night after what had been a special day. That had been perfect._

_Grinning, Clark let himself move a little quicker, and felt Lois start contracting around him. He stopped for a second when she cried out until she asked why he'd stopped. This happened again moments later, and he shocked himself by actually holding back through it. The third time, though..._

_He breathed her name as he came, looking her in the eye as she pulled him down for a gentle kiss. He smiled through it, unable to do anything else. He always smiled when he was with Lois._

---

"Well, at least I didn't have baby fever this time."

"There is no such thing as baby fever."

Lois looked at Chloe, realizing that they were still in her office. Had Clark really just told her about when they had conceived AJ with her cousin sitting right there? She figured it wasn't too surprising, considering she'd apparently been in the delivery room with Chloe when the twins were born.

"If I say I had baby fever, Chlo, then I had baby fever."

Chloe rolled her eyes before speaking. "You had love, Lo, and you had examples of happiness involving children very near to you. It's the same social phenomenon that I assume afflicts the numerous women of the world that claim they don't want children only to find themselves wanting children."

"Whatever it was, it doesn't matter. This one," Lois said as she pointed at her stomach, "had nothing to do with baby fever. He is just the result of loving parents ready for another baby."

"Indeed. I..."

Lois looked at Clark as he trailed off and got that far off look she'd come to recognize so well. "What is it?"

"High speed chase. I'll see you when it's finished." Clark kissed her on the cheek and jogged out of the office. Lois watched him go until he was out of sight, then relaxed back into her chair. She popped open a fortune cookie and pulled out the fortune before popping the cookie in her mouth. She read the fortune and laughed.

"What does it say, Lo?"

"'A thrilling time is in your immediate future.' Clark probably won't be happy about that."

She watched as Chloe grinned and spun around once in her chair. "No, but that isn't so much a fortune for you as it is a given."

Lois winked at her cousin. "I know. Say, wanna go follow a high speed chase?"


	58. Chapter 58

---- Chapter 58

Lois grunted as she heaved a box up onto the counter and allowed herself to slump a little as she felt AJ kick her just under her ribs. She patted her stomach a couple times where he'd kicked and stretched her back out a little to free it of the kinks she'd acquired since they'd started loading the moving truck that morning. She'd let Clark do most of the loading, but had stupidly decided to take full part in the unloading. She was now done with that. Hopefully.

Most of it seemed to be done already, though. One of the perks of having a husband that could lift the truck and tip it over so everything just fell into the house, she supposed. He'd been making it look like he was a regular Joe, though, since a few people had stopped by to welcome them to the neighborhood. Fortunately, Bruce was there to help make it look normal.

She looked over at the door and smiled when Jordan walked in, carrying a small box. She'd wanted to help all day, excited about moving. Apparently her cousins had told her that it was exciting to get to move someplace new and put all your stuff in different places. Cousin induced excitement seemed like it was going to be something present throughout Jordan's childhood. Probably better than no excitement.

Lois walked over and grabbed a box intended for Jordan's room, following her daughter up the stairs to the room that Jordan had picked out. It was the biggest of the non-master bedrooms, and also the furthest from them. She didn't think Jordan had really noticed that, just that it was big. The one closest to the master bedroom was going to be AJ's nursery, and the middle one would be the office or a guest bedroom. Maybe the office would be in the basement.

She followed Jordan into her new room and put the box down on top of a couple others as Jordan put hers down on the floor. Lois picked up Jordan and got her situated on a hip. "So, how do you like moving, baby girl?"

"Lots of boxes."

Lois nodded. "This is true. Apparently your father is a pack rat and he never told me about it, because I could have sworn we did not have this much stuff in the apartment."

"What's a pack rat?"

"Uh, well, that's what we call people who keep everything, no matter how old or useless it is, instead of throwing things away. Totally your dad's thing, because I never had the space to pick up the habit when I was younger."

"Why not?"

"When I was a kid, we moved a lot. Up until now, the only place you've lived is in the apartment. When I was a few years older than you, my dad starting moving us around every year or two, and I never had time to keep a lot of stuff. But, I am not going to do that to you. You, my baby girl, will be able to keep everything you ever get. Well, that's not true, but you'll be able to keep the stuff you want to keep."

Lois bent down and kissed Jordan on the forehead before walking out of her room and heading back downstairs. She let Jordan down to the ground when she was off the stairs and watched her zoom off outside. With a sigh, she followed and was almost run into by Clark as he backed up, couch in hand.

"You should beep while doing that, Smallville."

"Very funny," he said as he and Bruce carried it into the house. Lois walked outside and spotted Chloe wrangling the children. Lois walked up to the gaggle and stood behind them as Chloe started speaking.

"Alright young people, it's lunch time, albeit a late one, and I am going to make a food run. First off, who wants to go with me?" The three girls raised a hand each, and Chloe nodded. "Alright, I think that will work. Second, what does everybody want?"

After getting four answers garbled into one lump of speech that Lois couldn't understand, she stepped in. "Let's try this another way: I assume Chloe is getting fast food, so what do you guys want from a fast food place? In order of age, so Jack, you go first."

"Number seven, please, with no pickles."

Lois figured Chloe was going to need help remembering what everybody wanted, so she walked up to the truck and started digging around in a box. She found paper and pencil and wrote down Jack's order. "Alright, Aly?"

"Kids meal with chicken nuggets, please."

"Liz?"

"Kids meal with a plain cheeseburger, please."

Wow, very polite kids. She hadn't been that polite when she was ten, let alone four. Shaking her head, she got Liz's order written down before looking to Jordan. "Your turn, Jordan."

"Chicken, please."

"You don't want a kids meal?"

Jordan shrugged, and Lois wrote down a kids meal with chicken nuggets. She looked up at Chloe. "I'll go ask Clark and Bruce what they want and then I'll go with you, alright?"

"You don't need to, Lois. I can handle three girls."

"I don't doubt that, but since you guys did the food when you moved, it's our turn, what with it being our move."

"Oh good lord... Lois, you can buy dinner. Consider lunch a house warming gift."

"Chloe, I..."

She was cut off by Chloe waving a hand at her. "I love you, cuz, but you aren't winning this one." Chloe took the paper and pencil from her and looked at it a second before handing them to Jack. "Go have your dad and uncle Clark write down what they want, alright?"

Jack ran off into the house, and Chloe looked at her. "You know there are two G's in nuggets, right?"

"I was writing in short hand."

"Is short hand slang for not spelling things correctly?"

"Hey, why write two letters when you can write one and get the point across, right?"

Chloe eyed her a second before kneeling down in front of Jordan. "Sweetie, you may not understand this now, but when you need to learn how to spell, always go to your father. Your mother is amazing, believe me I know, but please, _always_ go to your father for spelling."

Jordan nodded and Chloe stood back up. Lois cocked an eyebrow at her cousin, who just smiled sweetly at her, causing Lois to roll her eyes. Jack returned a minute later with the full list, giving it to Chloe, and she took off with all the girls. Lois looked down at Jack as they drove off.

"Want to help your Aunt take in another couple boxes?"

"Yeah!"

She watched as he walked over to the truck and grabbed one of the few remaining boxes and started carrying it inside. It wasn't one of the biggest, but it wasn't small, either. Apparently Jack was pretty strong. Lois grabbed a big but light box full of couch pillows and carried it inside, finding her husband and Bruce sitting on the couch. She put the box down next to the couch and sat down between them.

"So, how goes the moving?"

"Very well, Lois. I was just talking to Clark about buying you two a house warming gift, but your husband has decided to be stubborn."

"Shocking," Lois said as she looked at both men. "What are you trying to buy us?"

"He wants to furnish the nursery, Lo. I'm not against gifts, and I appreciate the sentiment, Bruce, but usually a house warming gift is small, like a... well, I don't know what, but I don't think buying us a ton of expensive baby stuff is necessary. Besides, we have Lois's baby shower for the smaller things."

Lois frowned. That didn't seem like that big of a deal. Maybe it was a male pride thing for Clark, wanting to provide for his own family. She didn't care one way or another so long as AJ got the best things that would make him happy once he was in the world instead of her uterus. How could one even tell if a baby was happy early on? She was going to have to talk to Clark about that.

"Alright, well, how about a compromise? Say, a changing a table or something of that sort. Not huge, but it says welcome to the neighborhood AND welcome to the world, baby. Now, Bruce, I want honesty... Chloe is having you do this, isn't she?"

"She suggested it, but I also like to do things for friends. I consider you two close friends, but I understand where you're coming from, Clark, and I won't push it. I can't promise that Chloe will agree not to push it, though."

Clark sighed and nodded. "Yeah, Chloe likes to do big things for us now. Did she ever tell you that she wanted to buy us a house?"

"No, my wife failed to mention that."

"Yeah, she called it a gift after the two of them told each other they were both pregnant again. We declined, of course, but I'm not surprised that she wants to buy us things." Lois looked over at him and found him looking at her. "Chloe tried to do the same thing when Jordan was born. She wanted us to have all the very best stuff for her niece, and was very insistent about it."

"I'm not surprised, really. She always liked doing stuff for me when she could, though it never involved buying me stuff so much as doing favors. She was the same way with Lucy, though to a lesser degree."

Lois shook her head after a moment and looked at both men again. "Alright boys, how about less sitting and more moving stuff inside? There isn't that much left, and hopefully we can have most of it done by the time Chloe and the girls get back." She looked around the room and frowned again. "Say, where'd Jack get off to?"

Bruce answered. "He went down to the basement to look at the rooms."

She noticed Clark lowering his glasses and looking at the floor. She'd figured out that was what he did whenever he x-rayed or heat visioned, and since she doubted he wanted to set the floor on fire, she figured he was checking on Jack.

"He's still down there. In the bathroom, I think."

Lois watched as both the men stood up and headed outside. She was thankful that it hadn't snowed, as predicted, and that they'd been able to get most of the moving done already. It hadn't taken long, since they'd already been packed up, but it was tedious. Very back and forth. Moving had a lot of redundancy to it.

Staying on the couch, Lois unzipped her coat and let herself sink into the spot a bit, releasing a relaxed sigh as her eyes slid closed. She heard feet on stairs, though, and opened her eyes again to see Jack emerging from the basement. She smiled at him.

"How's it look down there?"

"Big. What are you going to put down there?"

"Well, your uncle Clark and I have a deal. I get to do all the decorating and arranging of things on this floor and upstairs, and he gets to do what he wants with the basement. I don't know why guys like basements so much, but it's what he wants. I like seeing him happy, so I'm ok with it. Plus, he wants to put something fn down there."

"What?"

"A pool table."

Jack's eyes lit up. "Cool!"

"Have you played before?"

"Yeah, mom and I played when we went to get some pizza last summer after I had a doctor's appointment. It was fun."

"Good, I'm glad. As soon as we get one, I'll make sure you get to play with uncle Clark."

"Thanks, aunt Lois." Jack ran over and hugged her, and Lois smiled as she hugged him right back. She watched him run outside to help with the moving again and pushed herself up off the couch, figuring she could drag in one last box. She walked outside and winced when she caught some reflected sun in the eye, then made her way to the moving truck where she found Bruce and Jack.

"Where's Clark?"

"He had something he needed to run and take care of."

Lois nodded, understanding. She was just happy that they'd been able to get most of the work done before something had called him away. If he'd been gone the whole day, it would have made for a very, very long move. Fortunately, all they had left was a few boxes and Jordan's bed frame. She was about to suggest to Bruce that they take in the frame when she spotted Chloe pulling up. Well, she was hungry.

Twenty minutes later, she was much less hungry. "Thanks again for lunch, Chlo. It was the perfect house warming gift, unlike, say, a nursery."

Lois glanced over at her cousin, who had taken to staring down at the few crumbs that were left of her food with cheeks that looked like they were blushing. "What do you mean, Lo?"

"I mean that you're great, and I love you, but we're going to buy our own stuff for AJ's room, not including whatever people do for a baby shower. How does that thing even work?" Lois waved a hand at her own question. "Nevermind. As I told Bruce, earlier, you guys can buy us a changing table, but that's it."

Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and sat back in her chair, frowning. "I just wanted to do something nice for my nephew in there. Giving him all the best stuff... I just like spoiling your kids, alright?"

"Hey, I have nothing against you spoiling AJ, but how about you wait until he's old enough for you to buy him toys? That's what Clark and I are waiting for with..." She pointed and Chloe's expanded stomach. "Your fetus needs a nickname, Chlo."

"What?"

"Your fetus needs a nickname! I never know what to call your baby, and it bugs me. All I can do is call him or her your baby, and that's too bland. Henceforth, your fetus needs a nickname so that I can have something to call it."

"So you want to give my currently kicking baby," she looked down at her stomach, "good afternoon, kicky" and then looked back up at Lois, "a nickname so that you don't have to call it my baby or fetus?"

"That sounds about right."

Chloe eyed her a second before nodding. "Ok, whatever you need to feel comfortable speaking about this baby. Heck, you nicknamed Jack when he was internal, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"What did I call him?"

"Tub."

She'd thought of a few names that she might have possibly used. Tiny, peanut and all those other names that everybody uses had come to her, but Tub? She'd never been so ridiculous to call somebody by a nickname like that unless they wanted to be called that, so how did she come to call Jack Tub before he was born?

"Tub? Was I high when I came up with this?"

"No. You hadn't even been drinking. You and Clark thought it was very clever, though, despite barely speaking to each other, and even I took up the name after a time."

"So how did I come to use the name Tub?"

"It's an acronym. Tub stood for Tiny Uterine Boy." Chloe smiled and looked down at her stomach and smiled, rubbing a hand over it. "That was one of those times that I knew you and Clark would be really good together, before your disastrous first date. It was the kind of thing that Clark would love, and he did when you told him about it."

"That is the kind of goofy thing that Clark loves, isn't it? Anyway, let's come up with a name for this baby. We obviously can't use the same name. When are you going to find out what you're having?"

"I'm doing it the old fashioned way this time. We've yet to be surprised, so we're going to give it a go this time. No knowledge of the sex until I can see it with my own two eyes. Or, Bruce can tell me if he spots what is or isn't there before I can. I assume I'll be somewhat exhausted at the time."

Lois bit her lip as she thought. The last time she'd come up with a nickname, it had been an acronym. What could she do this time? She didn't want to go the route of normal, because that would be boring and usual. What could she do... ooh, there was a thought.

"How about this: Clunk."

"Why do you hate my baby?"

"Hey, it's an acronym, like Tub! It stands for Chloe's Little Unknown. C, L and Unk."

"Just, no. You are not calling my baby Clunk. That's something you say when something has failed or fallen apart. This baby has done neither."

Lois rolled her eyes and sat back in her chair. "Fine, I won't call your baby Clunk."

"I appreciate that. Let's go get the last few boxes and you can think of something much better than that. Seriously, did you think I would let you call m child Clunk?"

"Considering you accepting it for use or not didn't really have time to happen before my mouth got ahold of the thought."

Lois followed Chloe outside and they walked over to the truck. Lois pushed opened the door to the back of the truck and climbed in to grab a box for Chloe. She pushed it over to her before walking back and grabbing a box for herself. She slid it to the edge and climbed down before grabbing it and walking inside. Checking inside, she found odds and ends from her's and Clark's room and took it upstairs, dropping it on the mattresses that were on the floor.

Looking around the room, there was a lot of space to play with. She made her way into the bathroom, finding a much larger room than their apartment had had. It contained a giant tub, which she planned on using quite a bit, and a huge sink area that should have just enough space for all the junk she barely used.

Going back out into the room, she was glad that it got as much sunlight as the apartment had, if not more. Their room had numerous windows and looked like it should be bright. She always liked bright rooms, but of course she might have to buy another sleeping mask. Maybe Clark's power of putting her to sleep in moments could counteract the light and keep it from waking her up.

Lois walked downstairs again and headed outside, where she spotted Bruce pulling part of Jordan's bed frame out of the truck. She walked over and took two of the pieces from him since they weren't too heavy. "Chloe in with the kids?"

"Yeah, she said all the girls were all looking tired so she was going to see if they would go down for naps. She took some sheets and pillows to makes pallets for them in the basement while you were upstairs. Jack decided he was tired of carrying things so he stayed inside to help Chloe with the girls. I don think that he'll really help much."

"No," Lois said as they walked into the house, "I doubt he will. He already has a big effect on Jordan, so if he's awake Jordan might decide she wants to be as well."

They walked up the stairs and put the frame pieces down on the floor. "Aly and Liz are the same way with him. They idolize their big brother, and already mimic him now and then. Since neither Chloe nor I had any siblings, it's interesting to watch the dynamic."

"It's much less interesting and much more annoying if you're the older sibling. Being the only one in this extended family with a brother or sister, I can say with some certainty that younger siblings can be the most annoying thing in the world. And, in my case, they can also be con artists, government agents and violinists in the Parisian orchestra with two sons. I can only imagine what Jack has in store for him."

She looked down at her stomach and placed a hand on it. "I literally _can't_ imagine what it's going to be like for Jordan. We don't know if she's going to have any of Clark's powers, or if AJ will either. One may have powers, the other not; who knows? Even drawing upon my own experience won't really help, because I ended up acting more like a mom than a sibling, and then Lucy was sent off to boarding school."

Back at the truck, Lois grabbed one of the last couple boxes, letting Bruce take the heavier of the two before heading back towards the house. They walked inside in silence, and after checking the contents of each box, dropped them both in the kitchen. Lois took in a let out a deep breath, smiling at Bruce.

"It feels good to have that done."

"I remember that feeling like it was three weeks ago."

"Very funny." Lois grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and handed another to Bruce, who thanked her before taking a long drink. She took a long swig of her own, looking around the kitchen as she swallowed.

The kitchen was as massive as the rest of the house. She figured Martha was going to love it, with all of its very modern appliances and whatnot. The eight foot island seemed like overkill, but then she'd never really been a big fan of the kitchen area of any house unless somebody was keeping it stocked with food she did not have to make herself.

Down at the other end of the kitchen, it opened up into a dining room where their table from the apartment was sitting, covered by a couple boxes. The formal dining room needed a big, rectangular thing instead of that circular one. It would be good for coffee on weekends, though, or talking with Chloe over a snack since coffee was still a long way off from getting into her system again.

She looked at the boxes again, and glanced at others littering the room. She didn't think that they'd had so much stuff in the apartment's kitchen, but it was quite the surprise when she'd kept dropping box after box of kitchen utensils, pots and pans in here during the day. This was another place in the house that Clark could do with what he wanted. She wasn't going to mess with anything by trying to cook, so she wouldn't get anything out of putting things anywhere.

Lois heard the front door open and walked passed Bruce into the hallway leading to the front door. She saw Clark pushing the door closed with his foot as he carried a cake. "Welcome back. Everything go alright?"

He nodded and walked over to her, showing her the cake. "Everything went fine. Bank robbers wrapped up in a sign post: a Superman classic. Now, take a look at this. I thought we could celebrate our new house by eating cake and thoroughly enjoying ourselves."

"I'm in. Hell, I'm in for most things food these days. I really need to go on walks or do something that resembles exercise. All this eating and the sedentary lifestyle I seem to have picked up since I woke up back in November can't be good for AJ. Or, maybe it is... I really wish I had a reference for half kryptonian pregnancies."

"Well, when you were pregnant with Jordan you did lots of pregnancy exercises and the such. They should be in the baby books we have around here somewhere."

"We have baby books?"

"Of course we do. There haven't been any big prenatal revelations in the last three or four years, so we just kept your old books. When you said you wanted to read up on pregnancy after losing your memory, I thought you meant you had seen the books."

Lois took the cake from him and put it down on the counter before turning back to him and wacking him on the shoulder with the back of her hand. It was worth the sting emanating from her fingers. "I haven't read anything, Smallville, because somebody didn't tell me we had books. When have I had time to read? I woke without a memory and have been trying to get to know my daughter!"

Why was she yelling at him? Wow, she was a lot more worked up than she should be. Clark was looking at her with the proverbial deer in the headlights look, and she took a step over and hugged him. "Sorry. That was weird."

"No, that was kind of normal for your mood swings. Just caught me by surprise." He wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her head.

"Were my mood swings bad with Jordan?"

"Every now and again. Mostly they were like that, where you would get angry over small annoyances. You only did the very happy to weepy sad that is portrayed so much once. You were happy about that."

"And if I only do it once this time, I'll be happy about it again."

Lois took Clark by the hand and led him into the kitchen, where they found Bruce still drinking his bottle of water. Lois motioned him to step back. Lois waved a hand out at the kitchen like a model on The Price Is Right does with a car, smiling at him. She then stepped out of the kitchen and into the hall next to Bruce. "The kitchen is yours to do with what you will. Now, how about you unpack in super speed?"

Clark looked around the kitchen for a moment, nodded and smiled at her. "And now, for the real reason you married me." There was a blur and her hair was thrown in her face by the wind he created, causing her to have to pull it off her eyes. When the world was revealed to her again, everything was orderly and in a place, while a stack of empty boxes was sitting in the corner.

"That is just all kinds of sexy, Smallville. When I figure out where I want everything and you unpack it all for me, you are so getting lucky that night."

"Should I leave you two alone?"

Lois looked over at Bruce, grinning and shaking her head. "Nah. He hasn't unpacked any of the stuff I want done yet, so you're safe."

"Good to know. I'm going to go check on Chloe, Jack and the girls."

Clark walked up next to Lois, hands in his pockets. "Where are they at?"

"Chloe made up some pallets down in the basement so the girls could take a nap. That was about... twenty or thirty minutes ago."

Lois and Clark followed Bruce down into the basement, and found that Chloe and Jack had both fallen asleep along with the girls. Lois pulled out her cell phone and took a picture, the camera in it being better than the actual camera she'd owned in 2008. After a couple pictures, they retreated back upstairs.

Lois laid down on the couch, smiling up at Clark as he stood over her. "They looked so comfortable down there that I think I might grab an hour or two for myself. Of course, I'm doing it on this soft couch instead of the hard floor of the basement."

"Alright. Have a good nap."

"Thanks." Lois let her eyes slide shut, and after the early wake up and large number of boxes, fell asleep quickly.

"Lois! Hey, Lois! Wake up!"

Eyes fluttering open, Lois lifted her head up off her pillow and took a deep breath, feeling like she should just go back to sleep. That had to be the worst nap ever to leave her this tired. She rubbed at her eyes with the palms of her hands, blinking a few times when she pulled them away. It seemed like an inordinate amount of light was flooding into the room, but maybe that was just going to be something to get used to in a new house.

Sitting up, she swung her legs off the couch and yawned. She stretched a second, closing her eyes once more before opening them to focus on her surroundings.

Where the hell was she?

Eyes wide, she looked around at the apartment she was in. This was the old apartment she and Chloe had shared when they'd decided to live together in Metropolis. Why was she here? Why did it look exactly the same as when she'd lived there? She stood up, looking around when she noticed something was off. She looked down, and her stomach was flat. What the hell was going on? Oh God, had she forgotten again with a new start point?

She ran over to the bathroom mirror, and nearly gasped at what she saw. Her hair was blonde again, and she looked like she was twenty three or twenty four! She ran a hand through said hair, feeling like she couldn't blink, and turned around, walking out of the bathroom and spotting Chloe walking out of her room.

"Chloe! What the hell is going on?"

Chloe turned around to face her and Lois noticed immediately that she looked like she was in her early twenties as well. "We're going to be late going out to the Kent farm is what's going on. I told Mrs. Kent that we'd be there by five."

"What... but... what?"

Chloe frowned and took a step closer to her. "Are you all right, Lois?"

"I have no idea what's going on, Chloe!"

"Well, we told Mrs. Kent we would go to Smallville today. We're having dinner with her tonight, and I'm going to spend the night with my dad while you stay at the Kent farm. What's wrong with you? We made these plans last weekend when I got back from picking up the tapes from the Planet."

Chloe walked off and Lois wracked her brain. What was Chloe talking about? Wait... she'd picked up the tapes? But that meant...

Lois followed Chloe out of the hallway and caught up to her. "What's today's date, Chloe?"

"June 13th, Lo. Friday the 13th. We took the day off, remember? So far, it has yet to live up to the unlucky billing, because it's been a pretty good day. While you were napping, I went out to pick up a couple things, and I met a guy. If he's as pretty on the inside as he is on the outside, I'll be giddy."

"What year?"

"What? Did your brain leak out of your ear while you were napping?"

"Just, come on, Chlo."

"It's still 2008, Lois. It was 2008 yesterday, and it will still be 2008 tomorrow. When will you be ready to go? Twenty minutes?"

"No... no, this is wrong."

"What's wrong? You look like you're confused, but what are you confused about?"

"This! All of this! You, meeting a guy! You're married!"

Chloe stared at her a second before leaning back against a kitchen counter and raising an eyebrow at her. "All right, I'll bite. What's the joke?"

"Joke?"

"Yeah, the joke. Chloe Sullivan married? That would require me finding a guy that could actually stay interested in me. That seems to be a kind of man that doesn't exist, though, so obviously there's something going on."

"No! You're married to Bruce, Chloe. You guys have three kids and one on the way!"

"Who the hell is Bruce? I've never met anybody named Bruce in my life!"

"Bruce Wayne, Chloe!"

"The billionaire playboy in Gotham?" Chloe walked over and started feeling her forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever. What did you eat before your nap?"

"I don't know! This isn't the right year! I went to sleep in the year 2022 and I woke up in f-cking 2008, at a period of time when I am supposed to be in a coma!"

This time Chloe stared at her for a long time, her mouth hanging wide open. Lois knew that she sounded insane, but since so many things in the life she'd gotten very comfortable in sounded equally insane, it really wasn't worrying her much. It did seem to be worrying Chloe.

Lois's head turned as there was a knock at the door, at since Chloe seemed busy staring at her like she'd grown a second head and three extra eyes, she walked over to the door and pulled it open. A nondescript man in a sports coat was standing at the door.

"Can I help you?"

"Lois Lane?"

"Yes, that's me."

The man reached into his sports coat, pulling a gun and pointed it at her head. Lois tried to retreat back but only got a step when she heard the bang.

Lois shot up, her forehead slick with sweat as she gulped air into her lungs. Looking around the room, it was the living room she expected, filled with boxes and other things that needed to be put into place. She placed a hand over her heart, feeling it race as she tried to calm herself down. It had only been a dream. An intensely real, extremely confusing and extremely violent dream.

She got up off the couch and walked into the kitchen, grabbing the first glass she found in a cupboard and filled it with water from the sink. She gulped it down, filling her glass again and sipping at it this time.

"Lois?"

She walked out of the kitchen and back into the living room, finding Clark standing next to the now empty couch. "Hey, how'd you sleep?"

"Uh, fine until the nightmare. Apparently those wake me up more quickly than you holding food in front of me."

He walked over and pulled her into a hug that she happily melted into, feeling the worry slough off of her a bit. "I'm sorry you had to wake up like that, Lo."

"Me too, Smallville. Is Jordan still napping?"

"No. Chloe and Bruce took all the kids over to their place to play so that they wouldn't wake you up. It's just you and me."

Lois sighed, wishing she could see Jordan. After that nightmare, it would have been as comforting, if not more so, as the hug she was currently in. "Can we just go sit down, Clark?"

"Yeah, of course."

Lois let Clark lead her to the couch and they sat down. She stayed in his embrace, letting her head rest on him like it always did, but sleep wasn't going to claim her this time.

"Must've been a heck of a nightmare for you to be this huggy. I usually have to use most of my strength to keep you in a hug that goes longer than ten seconds."

She sighed. "It was... disturbing."

"Well I'm here, and I love you. Dreams can't hurt you or this family. I promise that whatever happened, I'll keep this family safe. "

Lois let herself smile slightly for the first time since she'd woken up. For one of the first times in her life, she didn't mind having somebody there to protect her and make her feel safe. "I know you will, Clark, and I love you too."


	59. Chapter 59

---- Chapter 59

Lois grumbled as she pulled some towels out of a box. The morning sunlight streaming into the room did little to brighten her mood. Apparently, since she and Clark had made the deal that she got to decorate the house and he did the basement, he thought she should do all the unpacking and label where she wanted things before he would super speed it all into space.

He was _so_ not getting lucky.

Sick of the stupid box, Lois tipped it over and dumped everything on the floor. She tossed the box back over her shoulder and started sorting through the towels. She was mostly angry at herself, really; in all her wisdom when packing, she'd just thrown all the towels into a few boxes so that they'd be done with. She really should have remembered she would probably be the one that had to sort them.

AJ kicked a couple times and Lois let her head fall back. She pushed herself off her knees and into a standing position, walking over to sit down on the bed that Clark had put together the night before. "You're right, AJ. I need to stop being annoyed and let myself relax. I've done this before; the moving, not the pregnancy. Well, I have done that..."

Lois sighed. "It's better you know now. I mean, it's basically true to some degree for everybody, but really kiddo, your mom is insane. She is just all kinds of crazy. You can actually hear it right now because she keeps referring to herself as she. She promises to stop in a second.

"I need to tell you this now before I get all caught up in you being in my life. We kind of covered it once before, but I want to make sure and give you all the grisly details. I am going to forget you. There's nothing I can do about it. I would never, ever choose this, but don't think for a second that it means I will love you any less. I'm just going to have some days where things are a little off.

"I promise, if there is anything out there that will allow me to fix my memory and keep all these memories of you, I will. Your father and I will do everything in our power, and his is considerable, to try to fix this. I want to remember every minute of your life that I can, as early as it is, and that's how things will be as long as you know me."

Lois let herself fall backwards, her arms spread out wide on the bed. She sighed and rested her hands on her stomach. "I'm not so crazy as to think you understand what I'm saying, of course. You're like, eight inches long or something. I just... I hope you can feel how much I love you. I hope that you'll never have to wonder about that, no matter how repetitive you think I'm being by saying it all the time. I like saying it. I love you, AJ."

Lois ran her hands over her stomach a couple times before sitting up and getting off the bed, heading out of the room and downstairs. She found Jordan sitting on the couch, looking at a children's book. She looked around the room, not spotting Clark, and frowned.

"Jordan, where's daddy?"

"He had to go help."

Lois took a deep breath and walked over to Jordan, mumbling to herself about how Clark could have at least sped up the stairs to tell her he was leaving their daughter alone in the living room. Sitting down, she looked at the book Jordan was reading and shook her head. How the hell was Barney still popular? More importantly, was Jordan actually reading?

"Are you really reading that, baby girl?"

Jordan nodded, but Lois wanted to test the theory further. She pointed at a sentence. "How about you tell mommy what that says."

"It says 'Barney loves the kids and wanted to take them somewhere special. He wanted to take them on his airplane!'"

Well, she did have a photographic memory... maybe she'd just sounded out the passage and memorized it?

Oh, who was she kidding. Her three year old was going to grow up to become some super powered genius that did crazy things.

Huh. Kinda filled her with pride, to be truthful. Smiling, she bent down and kissed Jordan on the top of her head before walking over to some boxes and starting to pull out some of the pictures that had been strewn about the apartment.

Looking around the room, she tried to decide what would be a good place for pictures, but there weren't any real stand out spots that she could see. Of course, they hadn't really put the furniture in any order yet, so that would probably explain some of it. Still, she could probably spread these out through the house and have pictures everywhere instead of all in one room.

Pictures. She was thinking about putting up pictures in the house she was now living in with her husband and her daughter. What a life.

Smiling, Lois pulled the last of the pictures out of the box and put it down on the floor with the other pictures. She stood up, pulling the box up with her and started collapsing it. Once it was flat, she took it over to the pile that had been started in the dining room and tossed it on before walking back to the living room. She started picking up the pictures and putting them on the end tables and coffee table. They seemed much less likely to be stepped on when on top of a table.

Stretching, she looked at the boxes left to unpack. She then looked over at the couch. Such an inviting couch, just asking to be sat on and enjoyed. The boxes would still be there later, and the couch needed attention now.

Before making the couch happy, Lois wanted something to read. She looked around the room for a second before heading upstairs and into her bedroom. She walked over to the dresser, which Clark had gotten settled that morning, and kicked it once to open up the secret drawer. She pulled out the diary and pushed the drawer closed again before heading downstairs and sitting down next to Jordan.

"What's that, mommy?"

Lois glanced at the diary before looking at Jordan. "This is something that mommy has been reading, like you're reading your book. It tells me about things that happened in the past that I can't remember very well."

"Like what?"

"Uh, well, like when you were a baby. So much has happened since then that sometimes I'll have a hard time remembering it all. When that happens, I can look at this and it will remind me."

Jordan looked at her book for a second before looking back up at Lois. "Do I have a book like that?"

Why, _why_ did her daughter be as curious as she was? Maybe she could blame this on Clark, since he was a pretty naturally inquisitive guy. "I think, baby girl, that you're too young for one of these. You're only three; you don't really need a book like mine until you're at least seven."

"Ok."

Jordan looked down at her book and Lois sighed. Questions. That was something she always forgot about young kids: they ask a lot of questions. Add that to a healthy dose of inquisitiveness that she'd inherited from both of her parents and it was a recipe for giant amounts of questions. Recipes like that were why she'd never cooked. Except she'd cooked Jordan, and now she was cooking AJ...

Why the hell couldn't she get cooking out of her head?

Giving herself a mental shake, she bit her lip and opened up the diary. She was flipping to the next entry she hadn't read when suddenly there was a gust of wind going through the room. Fighting the urge to smack herself in the forehead, she closed the diary and slid it in between the cushions of the couch, looking up as Clark walked around in front of them.

"Hi, daddy."

"Hey there, Jordan. How was the book while I was gone?"

"Good."

"Good, I'm glad." Clark looked over at her, and smiled. "Got tired of unpacking?"

"Yes. It's very unfair of you to make me pull things out of boxes and label where I want them before you whoosh them into place." Lois started rubbing her stomach with her hands and gave him her best sad puppy face. "Have some sympathy for your pregnant wife, Smallville."

"That's... that's... that's just not fair. Why am I such a sucker for, well, anything you do? I mean, you could look at me cross eyed and I'd agree to do things for you."

"They call that whipped, Smallville. Fortunately, you are married to a woman that doesn't take advantage of it nearly as often as she could. Call me Saint Lois." Had she really just said that? God, she was setting herself up for like ten jokes about her and the city!

"Saint Lois, is it? Wow."

Lois grimaced as she watched Clark fight a losing battle against laughing. "Just laugh, Smallville. I deserve it."

She let her head droop as he laughed, knowing full well it was what she deserved for having once again spoken before thinking. Problem was, she was starting to laugh too. She couldn't hold it in, either, and cradled her face in her hands as she laughed at herself. Man she was laughing hard. It hadn't been THAT funny.

After a moment she calmed herself down and looked up again, Clark smiling at her. "So, what do you want for late breakfast?"

"Late breakfast?"

"Well, I figured that since you got up early with Jordan and had breakfast with her, you would probably be hungry again. It's about ten, now, and you got up three hours ago, so I'm going to say you want some scrambled eggs, toast and a few strips of bacon."

That sounded really tasty. She wasn't starving, but she could do with some sustenance. "Yeah, ok, if you're offering. I'm not one to turn down food, especially not lately. This whole eating like I just went three days without food thing is still normal, right?"

"Since you're usually eating like it's been two days without food, I'd say that extra day is about right. It was the same way with Jordan, and of course while each pregnancy is different, you having the appetite you do is something that is generally the same."

Lois raised an eyebrow at him. She could have a little fun with this. "I don't know whether to feel better that this is the same thing that happened with Jordan or to feel worse that my husband thinks I eat like whale."

"Is that what I said?"

"That's what I heard."

Clark eyed her a second before nodding. "Alright." He walked off into the kitchen, leaving Lois frowning. That wasn't what was supposed to happen! He was supposed to stumble over his words and apologize until she couldn't contain her laughter anymore! Stupid fake television families steering her wrong.

Getting up off the couch, she made sure Jordan was still all set with her reading and walked into the kitchen, watching Clark cook for a moment before speaking. Somewhere in his walk from living room to kitchen he'd changed into regular clothes. "You didn't walk into my trap."

"I've walked into it enough that I know all the warning signs. Cocked eyebrow, tone of voice... it took me a while to learn all the signals that you were trying to draw me into something, but I figured it out."

Lois smiled and shook her head. "I hate being predictable. You're going to force me to change the way I do things just to put one over on you."

"Lois, believe me when I say that you are anything but predictable. You're just walking in the steps you've already taken. That's not predictability, it's unfortunate circumstances."

"You're telling me," Lois mumbled. She walked a few steps so that she could see into the living room. "Hey, Jordan, are you going to want any of the food daddy is making?"

"No, mommy."

Lois walked back into the kitchen and took the plate Clark was holding out for her. She leaned back against the counter and devoured the pieces of bacon on the plate before getting around to the eggs. After forking some eggs into her mouth, she pointed her utensil at Clark. "What have I not done?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," she said around another bite, "what have I not done? What actions can I take where I would not be walking in the steps I've already taken, as you put it? What can I do to be myself, but not be exactly the same?"

"Why do you want to change?"

"Because you know me better than I do!"

Lois looked away from Clark and took another bite of eggs. That wasn't supposed to have come out like that. Apparently she was going to have trouble staying calm now, and that was going to annoy her endlessly. And, of course, that would keep her from staying calm. Endless circles like this were really things that Lois liked to avoid.

Lois looked up at Clark as he moved over and leaned up against the counter next to her. He smiled at her softly. "That was kind of out of the blue."

"I didn't really mean to sound so angry. Sorry about that."

"Not a problem. I've heard you a lot angrier, and a lot of times I caught the end of it because you were frustrated." She started to apologize, but he held up a hand. "Not complaining, just telling you how it's been. I'm more curious as to why you think I know you better than you know yourself."

"Because I don't know everything I've done. I like to think that I've adapted to everything fairly well, and for that I mostly have you and Jordan, along with Chloe and her family, to thank. You've all made everything as easy as it can possibly be. I will be eternally grateful for that, probably ten times over. You've told me the real big things in my life that I need to know."

Lois finished off her eggs and put the plate down behind herself before continuing. "As valuable as all that knowledge is, and as much as I need to know those things, missing the small things that have happened in my life is almost more painful. The big things make ripples in our lives, but without knowing all the small things, like how we've interacted during our relationship, I'm going to be doing things over and over again. Forever.

"Somehow, I've become the living embodiment of the saying 'Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.' I literally can't learn from what I've done. While my family, mostly you and Chloe, knows what I have and haven't done and have learned from it, I'm going to repeat my actions time and time again.

"What might be the most frustrating thing about all this is knowing that I'll never be able to learn things about you and be an equal partner in this relationship."

"Equal partner? Lois, if anything..."

"Clark, it can take years to learn people's quirks, and I have no doubt you're the same. In the time it will take me to learn all of yours, how much time am I going to have left before I forget? Will I even have the chance to learn them all before it happens again? Yeah, I mean, I know a few of yours from being your friend, but I wasn't ever in a position to bother to notice more than a few."

Lois sighed and leaned over into Clark, letting her eyes close for a second. "I just wish that I could get to know you as well as you know me and have it last."

She felt Clark's arms wrap around her, and she buried her face in him. He smelled so good, and had this silent comforting thing down. It made sense, since over the years she'd probably needed quite a bit of comfort for this same kind of spiel.

And there it was again. Would she ever have the chance to do anything for the first time again? All she needed was something small and she'd be fine. There had been her talk about making love after the first time they'd done that and Clark saying that she'd never done that before, but she was greedy and wanted one more thing. Maybe two.

Grumbling at herself, she pulled her face out of Clark's clothing and looked up at him. "Sorry I cut you off. I was rolling and didn't want to lose momentum before I got it all out."

"That's alright. All I was going to say that calling us equal partners in this is giving me way too much credit. You are very much in charge of this whole operation."

"When I'm not forgetting."

"Even with that, once you knew the basics this time around, you didn't try to make excuses for yourself. You figured everything out and started taking the lead. It may seem like I know you better, or that you're doing a lot more following than leading, but give it time. I know it sucks to hear that, but time fixes things. Stuff you notice now will be things you pay no attention to come another month or two."

Lois rested her head against Clark again, letting herself smile at how comfortable his embrace was. It was so easy to lose herself in him. She didn't know if she was happy that she'd found somebody to lose herself into or disturbed that she'd become somebody that could lose herself in a man. Damned if it wasn't a great thing, though.

"How about we go upstairs and get the rest of our bedroom set up? You don't even have to empty all the boxes. Just tell me where you want stuff and it'll be there soon after."

"You usually have something better to offer for comfort than that, Smallville." She looked up at him through her eyelashes. "You think Chloe and Bruce will mind watching Jordan?"

Lois laid on her side, catching her breath as Clark wrapped his arms around her. "That was like eighteen times better than unpacking."

"Only eighteen? When we moved into the apartment it was forty two times better." He sighed dramatically and rested his head on her. "My skills are slipping as the years go by."

"If your skills are slipping, I am envious of myself. The sentences I'm forming right now? All the mental and physical strength I can muster. The only part of me that isn't lips or tongue that can move right now is AJ, and technically, not me doing the moving."

"I can feel that," he murmured into her ear. The hand that was resting where AJ was kicking slowly moved from her stomach to her hip and Clark started kissing down her neck. She arched back into him and grinned a moment before speaking.

"You just keep going an going, don't you?"

"Chloe and Bruce are watching Jordan for the whole afternoon, and that means we have the house all to ourselves for more time than usual. It means I have my wife all to myself for the afternoon, and I am not going to waste a minute of it messing with boxes."

Lois bit her lip as he started sucking lightly on the place where her collarbone met her neck, closing her eyes and moaning in her throat. "Well, when you put it that way, your wife is happy to not waste time on boxes."

"Alright, you've obviously been holding out on me." Lois rubbed at her wet hair with a towel, getting it to feel a little more dry before settling the cloth along her bare shoulders. She watched as Clark tied his towel around his waist and walked over to her.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean shower sex! Why have you waited until now to shower me with shower sex? That was definitely up there at the forty two level you were talking about earlier."

"Come to think of it, when you said forty two last time, there was a shower involved. Weird."

"Why's it weird?"

"I was just thinking about the number of times you've been in peril..."

Lois held up a finger, prompting him to stop. "I've never been in peril. Danger, maybe, but never peril."

Clark nodded as he spoke. "Right. After all the life threatening situations you've been in with water, before and after the attack, I'm just kind of surprised that the water does it for you. More surprising is the fact that it took me this many years to figure it out."

She saw him roll his eyes at himself before dropping his towel and pulling on some boxers and jeans. Just the glimpse of him before he'd pulled them on... what the hell was wrong with her? If they kept going like this she was going to need a vagina transplant in a few years because hers was not going to survive. Had to be better than letting it die of neglect, she figured.

Shaking her head at herself, she looked up at Clark's face. "Honestly, I've never made a connection between my seemingly perpetual danger involving water and the fact that I really like shower sex. Fact is, before you, it was just alright. With you, I very pleasurably lose muscle control."

Just as she finished her sentence, her stomach growled extremely audibly. Frowning, she noticed for the first time since Clark had dropped Jordan off with Chloe that she was hungry. The fact was apparently not lost on Clark, either, as in the blink of the eye he was holding out a banana to her. "I know it's not much, but I figured I could make you something resembling a meal while you devour that and get dressed."

"Good call," she said around a bite of the fruit. He grinned and kissed her on the cheek before grabbing a t-shirt and walking out of the room. Lois let herself slump a little before taking another bite. Watching him walk away had made her ache a little bit, and if she hadn't been so hungry she would have called him back so they could continue their afternoon.

Finishing off her banana, Lois dropped the peel in the garbage can in the bathroom before walking to the closet. Clark had been kind enough to get all their clothes hung up the night before, and she grabbed one of the pairs of pregnancy jeans he'd put out for her. All jeans were not created equal, and as she slipped into these she was reminded of that fact. They just weren't as good.

She slipped a shirt on and headed out of the room, going down the stairs and walking over to the kitchen. When she walked in, she was greeted with a plate covered with a grilled cheese sandwich. It didn't last long, but it was replenished three times over and that seemed like a decent snack before dinner.

"What are we doing for dinner, Smallville?"

"Bruce and Chloe are grilling steaks. They're calling it a welcome to the neighborhood dinner."

Lois licked her lips. "I'm calling it tasty. What time is it?"

"Four."

"And when is steak time?"

"Whenever you and Chloe run out of snack food."

"You're hilarious."

Clark smiled at her and opened up the fridge, grabbing the milk and pouring himself a glass. "You could always call over there and ask Chloe when she thinks she'll be hungry. My guess is sooner rather than later." He was sipping at his drink when his head turned and he got his soon-to-be-leaving look.

"What happened?"

"A train derailed just outside Manhattan. It was carrying all sorts of toxic materials."

"What the hell was a train full of toxic materials doing in New York City? And why can't Diana handle it?"

In a blink, Clark was in his suit. "Not that Manhattan, the one here in Kansas. Kansas State University is there. I don't know how long this will take, but if I should help with the cleanup. Save me some steak." And with that, he disappeared from sight. May as well be turning invisible if he's going to move that quickly. Not that he needed another power.

Lois walked over to the phone, reaching to grab it but stopping herself. She could wait a little while to make the call over to the Wayne residence. She walked over to the couch and pulled the diary out from between the cushions as she sat down.

Before getting the chance to open it, the phone rang. Lois stuffed the diary back down in the cushions and got up again, walking over to answer the phone. "Hello?"

"Is it safe for us to come over, or are you two still ravaging each other?"

Lois sighed before speaking. "All ravaging is done, Chloe. Clark had to go to Manhattan and help with a derailed train toxic cleanup. Manhattan, Kansas, not the one in New York."

"Was about to comment on that. Anyway, Jordan spilled juice on her clothes and didn't want to wear the twins clothes, even though they are the same size. Thus, I am calling to see if we could get the all clear from you."

"All clear. You want me to come get her?"

"That's ok, I'll bring her over."

A couple minutes later, Chloe walked in with Jordan, who was indeed covered with wet splotches on the front of her pants, and figured her shirt probably looked similar under the coat. Lois smiled as Jordan walked up to her. "Been partying hard, baby girl?" Jordan nodded, though Lois wasn't sure she fully grasped the meaning of the phrase. "I thought so. We need to unsticky you before dinner."

Chloe smiled at Lois. "And on that note, I'll leave you two to do your thing. What time do you want to do steaks, Lo?"

"We'll probably be back over at your place in about an hour, so if steaks are cooking or just getting done then, that would be great."

"Sounds about right. I'll talk to Bruce and we'll get things going. See ya later."

Lois gave a wave as Chloe walked out and turned her attention to Jordan. "What say we rinse you off, baby girl?"

"Do I have to take a bath?"

"I don't think so. We can just use a wash cloth and warm water for this."

Lois pulled off Jordan's coat and led her upstairs to the master bathroom, getting Jordan down to her usual level of stickiness before getting her into some new clothes. She carried her downstairs and they sat down on the couch, Jordan curled up in her mother's lap. Lois looked down at her a second.

"Did you take a nap today, Jordan?" She felt her little head shake against her body and figured Jordan must be tired from playing with her cousins all afternoon. She slowly stroked her hair and ran her fingers softly over her back, humming to her quietly. Jordan was asleep before Lois could even figure out what she was humming. She got Jordan laying down at the other end of the couch and covered her with a blanket from a nearby chair. It was late for a nap, but she wouldn't make it through dinner awake if the nap didn't happen.

Pulling the diary out again, Lois moved over to the now vacant chair and sat down. She crackled a few knuckles in a clichéd but satisfying way before opening the diary. She was almost to the next entry when she heard a knock at the front door. She let the diary fall shut as she fought the urge to growl in annoyance, looking to Jordan to make sure the knocking hadn't disturbed her nap. She pushed herself out of the chair and did her best not to stomp to the door.

She opened the door to be greeted by a woman that looked to be fifty, give or take five years. She got smiled at with a big grin, and Lois smiled at her, though she kept it tight mouthed.

"Hi, I just wanted to introduce myself and welcome you to the neighborhood. I'm Patty Greenberg, from three doors that way." She pointed the opposite direction of Chloe's house. She held out a hand, and Lois took it, giving it a quick shake.

"Lois Lane Kent, nice to meet you."

"Lois Lane Kent? The writer for the Daily Planet?"

"That would be me, yes." Lois smiled at her again, this time figuring she should show some teeth and actually make a decent effort.

"Oh, that's just wonderful. I love your articles with your husband, Clark." Lois nodded politely and the woman began speaking again. "I really do enjoy your work. The article you two did on the City Councilmen recently was just great work."

"Thank you very much. We just try to do the best we can."

"Well, you two are fantastic. You do so much good for our city and we're lucky to have you." When she stopped speaking, her cheeks flushed and she looked away for a second. "I sound ridiculous. I'm sorry if I'm embarrassing you."

Lois smiled at her, this time the most genuine of the three. "Not at all. I don't get recognized all that often, and it's nice to hear that somebody thinks we're doing things correctly."

"I appreciate that. Anyway, I'm sorry that I'm probably the last one around here to introduce myself, but I just got back in town from visiting family about an hour ago. We've got kind of a small town feel around here, real friendly and such, and I always seem to be the slacker that is last to introduce herself to the new people."

"I think the small town feel is why my husband likes it around here so much. He grew up in Smallville, a couple hours outside the city."

"I've heard of it. They seemed to have some strange happenings there through the years. Two meteor storms... what are the odds?"

"Astronomical," Lois said. "Excuse me a second." Lois walked inside the house and checked on Jordan, who was still sleeping on the couch. She walked back to the door and stepped one foot outside. "Come on in from the cold, we can talk in the kitchen."

Patty followed her inside and Lois led them into the kitchen. Looking around , Lois realized that she didn't really have anything to offer for the woman to drink. She turned around and faced her. "Sorry I don't have any coffee to warm you up. I've been laying off, since I tend to be all or nothing and I don't believe in decaf, and Clark has decided to abstain with me."

"Don't worry about it, I'm fine." She paused a second before speaking. "Do you mind if I ask how far along you are?"

Lois smiled and shook her head. "Not at all. 21 weeks."

"Is that all? Wow. Are you having twins?"

"Nope, I just get big early. It was the same with our daughter Jordan."

"How old is she?"

"Three." Lois pointed back towards the living room. "That's actually why I came in here a minute ago. She was playing over at the Wayne's house all afternoon and tired herself out. Later than her usual nap, but better having her fall asleep in the middle of dinner."

Patty smiled at her. "Oh, so you met the Wayne's? They're new in the neighborhood, too. Actually added on to the house, they did. I was surprised to see Bruce Wayne and his family moving in around here."

"Well, that's his wife's doing. Chloe is from Metropolis, originally, before she moved to Smallville."

"Did she really? Your husband is from there, right?" Lois nodded. "Did they know each other while they were there?"

"Best friends, actually. She's how I met Clark, back in 2004" Patty frowned, not seeming to understand. Lois then remembered what she hadn't said. "Chloe's my cousin. I went to see her once and ended up staying with Clark's family through some odd circumstances. She's also a writer for the Daily Planet, going by Chloe Sullivan."

Patty nodded, seeming to get the name. "I like her articles, too, though not quite as much as yours. You two must be close to be living on the same street."

Lois smiled. "I'm as close to her as I am my sister. Maybe closer. I wouldn't have a lot of things in my life without Chloe's help."

"So you and Clark must have been together for quite a while now if you were introduced back in 2004."

"Actually, it hasn't been that long." Boy, was that the truth. "We didn't actually ever get together until years later, when both of us had done some growing up. Back then, he was enamored with his home town sweetheart and I thought he had too much farm in him to ever end up with a city girl like myself. Plus, I was a little aimless. We both figured out where we needed to be, though, and it brought us together."

That sounded a lot like something Clark would say. Amazing how much influence he seemed to have over her. It wasn't even intentional, probably.

"My first husband was a farmer, actually, so I know what you mean by having too much farm in 'em. Well, I won't take up any more of your time. It was really nice meeting you, Mrs. Kent."

"Please, call me Lois."

"Only if you call me Patty. I'll see you around, Lois."

Lois followed her as she exited, giving a small wave as she closed the door. Good lord, what the hell had happened? She'd started talking to the woman like she'd asked for a life story! She'd been nice enough, but she hadn't been _that_ nice.

Grabbing a bottle of water, Lois walked back out to the living room and sat down again. She took a few sips from the water bottle, watching Jordan as she thought. Was the opening up something that happened because of AJ? She'd been a little scatterbrained now and then, sure, but she'd never been big on offering up information. Maybe this was something happy people did. Not that she'd been unhappy previously, but she'd never been this happy before, despite all circumstances.

Walking back into the living room, Lois watched Jordan a second before sitting down in the chair again and grabbing the diary. She was going to read this thing if it killed her. Opening it up, she paused a second. No telephones ringing, no knocking at the door and no husbands zooming in yet. A good sign. Usually she was interrupted by this point. She flipped to the page she wanted, waited a second for any last minute intrusions, then looked down at the dairy.

March 15th, 2021

I don't know that I can remember a three year span in my life that has been anything like the three years it has been since I last lost my memory. This, of course, is not helped by the fact that I can't remember anything after June 7 of '08, but of what I do remember, this has been about the craziest three years I can remember.

I know that earlier in this diary my former self talked about what a crazy period of time that we all went through. The marriage, the twins birth and us getting pregnant is a big, crazy time, and it all happened in six weeks! Had to be intense.

But I had a baby. I gave birth. A person literally came out of me.

I don't know if you can grasp how huge this is, because I don't know if it has happened to you. I don't know if you've just started experiencing motherhood with Jordan. I don't know what you have and haven't been through. I wish I did, so that you would be able to grasp how huge it is that this happened, that I experienced it.

What I do know is that you know how we felt about motherhood. Let me say, Jordan is two and a half and we've yet to screw her up. Clark is great at keeping me from doing any damage, though I do like to think that if it were just Jordan and I, there wouldn't be any psychological damage that wouldn't fade with time.

On the note of time, though, it's started creeping into the back of mine that my time may be limited. Not in the I'm going to die sense so much as I'm going to forget. The two times before this, it was less than three years and closer to two. Well, the last one was, and that appears to be because I was pregnant. Before that, two years and eight months was the shortest. Of course, time before that was four years, four and a half months.

Really, I could be irrational and blame my latter two memory losses on Clark. When he wasn't around making me fall in love with him, I went four plus without forgetting. He got back, started with the wooing and suddenly I can't make it three years without losing my memory. Well, not until this time.

Wow, that is all kinds of ridiculous. I prefer to be happy and forgetful.

Anyway, as I was saying before I got off on my tangent, I don't know how much longer I have with my memory. I hate it, and I do my best not to think about it. I don't think Clark knows it's on my mind, though I wouldn't be surprised if he did. The man seems to know me better than he knows himself at times, big lovable guy that he is. It'd be cooler if I knew him just as well.

Not knowing what triggers it, I could get set off by anything. I might eat Thai food and forget later that night. It might be reading Jordan a new book that sets things off. We just don't know.

What I do know is that I can't let it rule my life. As much as I want to think about it and try to figure out what could make it happen, it's more important that I focus on my daughter. She is what matters, not me. Hell, if I need to forget to keep her safe, it happens.

I want to remember my own daughter, of course. There's nothing in the world more important to me than she is. What that means, as you well know, is that I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. Technically, I would do the same for all my family members, but the urge to protect them has never been anything compared to this.

I hope, so much, that I am telling you things that you already feel. If you're not, give it ten more minutes and that should do the trick. She's really very lovable, much like her father. If you are, then you know what I'm saying.

Pretty overwhelming at first, wasn't it? I don't really know what happened. One minute, I was me. The next, there was a little girl that was half me that I had to protect. I didn't even realize how I felt at first. It was just the way it was, and my mind took it in step without question. It took six months before I really thought about it. I thought about what it meant and I came to the conclusion that it was mind cloudingly strong.

As much as I tried, I couldn't seem to figure it out. It just... was. It was there, and it was and is there to stay. I feel it no less strongly after considering the how and why of it so much, I just feel more aware of it.

Yeah, you're probably saying 'What the hell are you doing wasting all that time on the deep thinking when you could be out breaking a story or playing with Jordan?' All I have to say is that I've been trying to understand myself as a mother. For years, the concept terrified me. It was almost taboo to mention. Then, I wake up three years ago, pregnant, and I was terrified. I don't know if Clark's story properly get it across, because I lived it, and it was all kinds of whoa.

I had months to get used to pregnant, and by the time I was used to it I was sick of it and ready for her to be born. Then she was, very quickly. Before I knew it, months had passed and I'd been so wrapped up in Jordan that I didn't even realize I'd become a whole new person. I was mommy now. It was total, unequivocal and final. I loved it.

It made me feel like I had done something better than I could have ever hoped to. Through the sleepless nights, I was frustrated, but it had nothing to do with not sleeping (well, maybe a little to do with not sleeping.) I was frustrated that I couldn't give Jordan what she wanted so that she would be able to sleep. It sucked. I never realized it, though, until I did really think about what it meant to be a mom.

Now that I've been thinking about it for about two years, I wish I could say I knew what meant what. I don't. I don't know that I ever would if I had ten years to think about it. It's still just the way things are, the end. God, I'm loathe to write it, but it's basically instinct.

I hate attributing things to instinct. It's like saying I knew how to do it all along and the only things I needed to learn were how to strap in a baby seat, change a diaper and swaddle. Motherhood can't possibly be that simple. I know it's not, because I'm living it. But I can't seem to boil it down to anything else. It bugs the hell out of me.

(The few things I attribute to instinct are hunger, thirst and sex. They are basic, primal things. Technically, motherhood is pretty primal too, but I don't want to group it in there. It's too... easy, I guess.)

I'm not going to pretend and say that I did this all by myself. That would be pure idiocy and an outright lie. There were times that I felt I wasn't doing something right only to have it pointed out by Clark, Chloe, Martha or any number of other people that I was, in fact, doing it correctly. Yay family. But doing what's best for the baby right off the bat, the want to protect her forever... I don't know what I could call that but instinct. It annoys.

Upon reading what I've written, I find once again that Jordan dominates. While it is technically related to the topic, which is the three year anniversary of the last time I forgot, it's not exactly what I had in mind when I sat down to write this. After my written annoyance with instinct, though, I can't remember what the hell I wanted to say originally.

As such, I bid you adieu. Here's hoping you've already found the happiness I have.

Lois shut the diary and frowned. Why hadn't she ever thought about motherhood like that? She'd had plenty of time to think about just what exactly motherhood entailed and how it had seemed to hit her full bore that first night. But once it hit her, she really hadn't thought about the why behind it. It just was the way things were now. Jordan came first.

What an odd concept. How could something be so instantaneous and all encompassing? She would definitely have to ask Clark if being a father felt the same way. Had this been fifteen years ago, she'd have been certain he would have give it a great deal of thought in his loft. Now, he'd probably thought about it, but she wasn't sure how in depth he would have gone.

Looking around the room, Lois couldn't find a clock so she got up and started rummaging through boxes as quietly as she could to find out what time it was. When she finally found the clock, it said that she and Jordan were due over at the Wayne household.

Resigning herself to the task of waking Jordan up, Lois walked over to the couch. She stopped in front of it, watching Jordan for a second. She really looked so much like Clark that it was scary, especially when she couldn't see her eyes. She leaned down and gently pulled some of her hair off her face, smiling as she watched her sleep. Jordan would always come first, along with AJ when he was born. It was simple as that.

Getting down on her knees, Lois started running her hand gently over Jordan's back. One thing she'd noticed was that Jordan really like to sleep on her stomach. She couldn't remember if she had done the same when she was young, and doubted her father would know. Maybe it had been something Clark did. Or, maybe Jordan was just her own little person. That seemed most likely, but it wouldn't hurt to ask Martha..

"Jordan. Come on, baby girl, it's time to wake up." Jordan started to stir, whining a little bit as she turned her head away from Lois. She bent down and kissed Jordan on top of the head. "It's time to get up, Jordan. Your mom probably shouldn't have let you nap in the first place, but she has a soft spot for you."

Jordan rubbed at an eye and turned back towards her. She held out her arms and Lois grabbed her gently and lifted her off the couch. Standing up as she got Jordan settled, she felt the little girl lay her head down on her shoulder. "Come on, Jordan, no more sleeping. We're going over to Aunt Chloe and Uncle Bruce's house to eat some dinner. How does steak sound?"

"Tired."

"The steak sounds tired, does it? Poor steak."

As she started walking towards the door, she spotted Jordan's coat and suddenly remembered that it was quite chilly outside and well on its way to being dark. Grumbling internally, Lois put Jordan down and got her coat on, with very little help from the person getting coated, and slipped her feet into her shoes before picking Jordan up again.

"Alright. Let's go eat some steak and play with our cousins. What do you say?"

"Tired."

Rolling her eyes at herself for expecting anything else, Lois locked the door behind her. "I figured. Don't you want to play with your cousins?" She felt Jordan nod, and smiled. "Good, because I bet they want to play with you." She paused in her speech, but kept walking. "I love you so much, Jordan."

"I love you too, mommy."

Lois's heart swelled. Such a simple thing to hear, and such an amazing feeling that accompanied it. Her children would always come first.


	60. Chapter 60

---- Chapter 60

"Knock knock!"

Lois walked into Chloe's house as she spoke, still carrying Jordan. Fortunately, the little girl hadn't fallen asleep, but she didn't seem like she was going to be all that energetic anytime soon either. As she walked a little deeper in the house, Chloe popped out of the kitchen and smiled at her.

"You let her nap, didn't you?"

Lois nodded. "As I seem to have said to myself and other people like five times today, it's better than having her fall asleep in the middle of dinner. I have this mental image of her head falling over into mashed potatoes."

"Since we're not having mashed potatoes, she should be safe." Chloe walked around a little bit so she could see Jordan's face. "Hey you. Your cousins are upstairs playing if you want to join 'em."

Lois felt Jordan shake her head, and looked over at Chloe. "She's been unhappy about waking up. Being a little grump, aren't you Jordan?" All she got was another head shake in response. As Chloe faced her again, she rolled her eyes a little before following into the kitchen. She watched Chloe walk over to a big bowl of salad and start mixing it up. "Ooh, leaves. What else you putting in?"

"Tomato, cucumber, feta cheese, a little red onion and some olives."

"Yeah, that actually doesn't sound half bad. Little more fancy than the bags of salad you used to have, though."

Chloe carried the bowl over to another counter and smiled at Lois. "Like I told you, I actually make a pretty good salad now. It helps that I've had Alfred and a chef or two over the years to teach me, but I can make more than just the one."

Lois shifted Jordan over from one shoulder to the other before speaking to Chloe. "I assume Bruce or somebody else does most of the actual cooking, though."

"You assume correctly."

Lois watched Chloe work a moment before speaking to Jordan. "Baby girl, I'm sorry if you've inherited my inability to cook. It is certainly not something I hope I passed on. Hopefully, you'll be like your dad and be a great cook."

"I have to go to the bathroom."

"I appreciate the heads up." Lois put Jordan down and she walked away, leaving her alone with Chloe. She walked over and grabbed a glass out of the cupboard, filling it with water and drinking some of it. "You want a glass, Chlo?"

"I'm fine, thanks." She looked at her watch and looked back at Lois. "Steaks should be ready in the near future. What do you think the chances are Clark is going to join us?"

"I wish I knew. I don't know how long it takes him to do these things, at least not anymore. I don't know how many toxic cleanups he's done."

"He doesn't do a lot of them, truthfully. There was a big oil spill a couple years ago he helped with, which kept ecological damage minimal, and there's been one here and there that he's worked on. They don't happen all that often, so it's not something I've ever timed like I did him helping pull cats out of trees."

"We could always check and see if the spill made the evening news, maybe see if he's still there or not."

Chloe nodded and Lois walked out to the living room with her cousin in tow. She grabbed the remote and flipped to a local channel, finding that the spill was indeed getting coverage. They had live shots from a helicopter looking down at the middle of it, where Superman seemed to have frozen the ground where the spill had happened and was digging it up.

"Ya know, I don't think I give Smallville enough credit for his smarts. Though the ground was probably pretty cold to begin with, freezing it outright to keep the puddled toxins from seeping in and digging up the ground to keep what did from going deeper is good thinking."

"We married very smart men, Lois."

"I'm getting that."

They both stood there and watched the news for a few minutes as it periodically switched back to coverage of the spill. The other things going on locally were pretty boring, and the national stories didn't get more than a couple minutes of coverage. When Jordan joined them, Lois changed the channel and pulled her close.

"When's dinner, mommy?"

Chloe answered before Lois could. "Soon, Jordan. Your uncle Bruce is out cooking the steaks with Jack right now. Say, why don't you and I go upstairs and get your cousins so they can wash up for dinner?"

"Ok." Jordan took Chloe's outstretched hand and they walked up the stairs, disappearing from view. Lois stood there a second before turning and walking towards the back of the house. She slid the backdoor open, walking out into the night's chill and stopping when she got next to Bruce, Jack and the grill. The smell of the steak assaulted her nose in a very pleasurable way.

"Hi, aunt Lois."

"Hey there, Jack. How's the steak looking?"

"Good. Dad's teaching me how to make a good t-bone. Last time I tried they got burned, so he's cooking and I'm watching."

Lois smiled and ruffled his blond hair a bit. "Don't worry, your mom does the same thing whenever she cooks, and so do I. You come from a family of people that are not skilled in cooking, and generally leave it to others to do it for them."

"You also come from a family that hasn't always cooked for itself, Jack, and I want you to be able to make your own meals."

"I like trying to cook, dad, but I think I need more practice."

"I think you do, as well. I also think that instead of starting you off big again, we'll work our way up. Starting with hot dogs this time seems like a good idea."

Lois watched Bruce smile down at him before flipping the steaks over. The heat from the charcoal felt good on her face as it combated the wind that was moving across her face. She looked from Jack to Bruce to the grill, then looked up at the night sky. She couldn't see all that many stars this close to the city, but it was a little better than it had been at the apartment. She'd gotten used to the stars at the Kent farm, and in Smallville in general. It was still hard to believe how long ago it was and how recent it seemed.

"The steaks will be ready in about five minutes, Lois."

"They already smell delicious, but you're the cook. I'll let Chloe know and we'll get the table set."

Lois walked back inside the house, finding Chloe already working on setting the table. She heard the television on in the living room, looked over and found all the girls sitting down on the floor, watching a cartoon she didn't recognize. She looked back to Chloe. "I was just coming in to help with that."

"Don't worry about it, I'm almost done. You can grab the salad, though."

Lois walked into the kitchen and grabbed the big bowl and walked back out to the dining room, setting it down as Chloe pulled the flower filled centerpiece up and put it on a nearby counter. "Bruce say how long the steaks were going to be?"

"Five minutes about a minute ago, so four minutes or so." Just as she finished, Bruce and Jack walked in with the steaks. Lois scowled. "I can't have lost all sense of time. They're in early."

"We are," Bruce said as Jack carried the plate of steaks and put it down on the table. "My previous estimate of how long it would take was a bit off."

"Hey, so long as the food is done, I'm alright with it." Lois looked over at the girls. "Come on, young women folk, time for dinner."

"Young women folk? You been watching westerns, cuz?"

"No more than usual." Lois waited while Jordan ran over and helped her into her chair before taking the one next to it. She sat down and had a steak placed on her plate by Bruce, whom she smiled at. She pulled Jordan's plate over and started cutting up her meat into small pieces, handing one over to her as everybody started eating.

Pushing Jordan's plate over in front of her again, Lois started in on her own steak. It was awesome. "Bruce, this is great. Absolute top grade steaks and even better grilling."

Dinner passed quickly, Lois inhaling her steak and Jordan's leftovers along with a couple helpings of salad. Chloe really did make a good bowl of leaves, especially when it had all the feta cheese on top of it.

They were all relaxing in the living room, Lois talking with Chloe and Bruce and all the kids reading or coloring when there was a knock at the door and Clark walked in. Lois got up off the couch to greet him. "That was some cleanup, Smallville. We saw you on the news earlier."

"Yeah, there was all sorts of fun stuff that got spilled off the train. Once I made sure everybody was safe, I started getting everything dug up and... well, there was a lot of ground to cover, even for me. I guess you guys ate already?"

"We did. If you check the fridge, though, you'll find a whole, juicy steak in there for you. I had to pry it away from Chloe, and myself, but it got saved just for you."

"God, I love you Lois." Clark pulled her close and kissed her in a toe curling fashion, and was gone into the kitchen before she'd even realized what happened. Opening her eyes to be met with nothing but air, Lois came down off her tip toes and took a deep, calming breath before walking into the kitchen.

"Smallville, if you're going to kiss me like that, no whooshing away in the middle of it!"

He smiled back at her sheepishly after he'd warmed up his steak. Apparently his heat vision was faster than a microwave. "Sorry, I just worked up an appetite with the cleanup and our... activities, before that."

"Well, I understand that," Lois said, more to herself than him. She'd downed a banana and four grilled cheese sandwiches immediately following their activities that afternoon. Hell, she'd known then that it was only a snack in front of a real meal. She followed him out of the kitchen and into the dining room, sitting down next to him and he started on his steak.

"There's salad in the fridge, too, if you want me to get you some."

"No, thank you."

Lois watched him eat, quickly, and soon they were in the living room, sitting down on a couch as Chloe moved over to the chair Bruce was in and sat with him. "Alright, so it's a nice, peaceful night. How about you guys tell me the next big thing that happened. There can't be much left, really."

"There isn't," Clark said. "We almost have you all filled in. I guess the next thing that happened was finding out that you were pregnant. You got a little bit of it when Jordan told a story, but I can fill you in on what happened before and after that."

---

_Clark walked out of the stairwell, adjusting his tie as he let the door close behind him. The noise of it didn't disturb anybody in the bullpen, getting drowned out by the chatter and televisions running every news channel available. Footage of the airplane he'd just saved from crashing in Arizona was playing on most of them._

_He wove his way through the bullpen traffic, bumping into a couple people here and there to keep up appearances, and pushed his glasses up on his nose as he reached his desk. His smile melted into curiosity as he spotted Lois with her head resting on her desk across from him. _

"_Hey, you alright, Lo?"_

"_Tired," he heard mumbled. She lifted her head up and shook the hair out of her face. "Been exhausted all day. May as well not have slept last night, the way I feel."_

"_Well, we were up kinda late."_

_She smiled at him, but shook her head at the same time. "That's an entirely different, much better kind of exhaustion, and one I can usually ignore once the day gets going. This is very much not going away and making me feel extremely lethargic. I hate being lethargic at work."_

"_I know. You tell me that every day that lethargy overtakes you. It's not that often, but it is out of the ordinary so I try not to forget it." He watched her flop back in her chair, letting her head roll back so she was staring at the ceiling. "Do you want me to get you some coffee?"_

"_I had some right after you left. As of yet, no dice. Maybe I have a stomach bug or something, because the Chinese we had for dinner last night didn't sit quite right."_

_Stomach bug. Stomach bug? God, he knew he'd heard her say that before but he couldn't place it. He rubbed at the bridge of his nose for a second, trying to place it, but it wouldn't come to him. He hated the feeling of knowing something but not being able to think of it. He pushed it to the back of his mind and sat down, still looking at Lois. _

"_Why don't you take a half day? I can write the plane story, if Perry gives it to us, though he'll probably just use the AP story, and our meeting with the source on the city council contracts got delayed until Monday morning. Head home and grab a nap."_

"_That's probably not a bad idea. If I do that, I'll be awake tonight when you bring Jordan home instead of being zombie mom. On the other hand, I hate not being here if any big stories break, and Chief hates it too." She held her hands up, using them as scales. "Daughter," she said as her right hand hovered, "or big story." Her left hand did the same, and she smiled at him. "Not even a choice. When do you think you'll be home?"_

"_Depending on circumstances, probably between six and seven."_

"_The usual. Why'd I even bother asking?"_

_He smiled at her as she got out of her chair, pulling her bag out of the bottom drawer of her desk. "I think it's because you like to know when your daughter is getting home."_

_She walked around the desks and kissed him on the forehead. "You're probably right. Love ya, Smallville."_

"_Love you too, Lo."_

_He watched Lois as she walked away, smiling at her as the elevator doors closed. After a moment, he got up out of his chair, rubbing at his neck a moment before walking over to Perry's office. He knocked on the door._

"_Come in!"_

_Clark walked in, spying Perry rub at his temples. He closed the door behind him. "Something wrong, Chief?"_

"_Besides you and Lois still calling me Chief, no more than the usual stress of the job. The rubbing doesn't actually do anything to make me feel any better, but the action has become my way of thinking things through over the years."_

"_Then why haven't I seen you doing it more?"_

"_Because I usually wait until I get home. I just needed to think something through a little earlier today. What brings you to my office, Kent?"_

"_I just wanted to tell you that Lois is taking the afternoon off. She's exhausted and thinks she might have a stomach bug or..."_

_Clark trailed off, quite suddenly remembering when it was Lois had said stomach bug before. It had been when she was hiding her pregnancy from him. Was she hiding it again? When had it been that they'd gone unprotected... six weeks ago? Wouldn't she have missed her period in that time? But the exhaustion..._

"_Kent!"_

_Clark blinked and looked up at Perry. "What'd you say, Chief?"_

"_Apparently nothing that you're going to remember. You drifted off for a moment there. Everything ok?"_

_Clark ran a hand through his hair, trying to think. "Uh, yeah, I'm fine. Look, I just remembered something I need to do. Do you mind if I take the afternoon off as well?"_

"_You'll probably disappear anyway, per usual, so go ahead. If anything big happens and I don't have you and Lois around, there will be hell to pay tomorrow."_

"_There always is, Chief. See ya tomorrow."_

_Clark walked out of the office, passing by his desk without a second thought as he made his way towards the closing elevator. He didn't make it before it closed. He waited impatiently for a moment until another elevator came up, and got in. He waited impatiently for it to get to the ground floor and got out as soon as it did, apologizing to a woman he bumped into as he walked outside. _

_Looking around, he walked a couple blocks until he found a store. Walking inside, he smiled at one of the cashiers as he walked by and onto the aisle with the pregnancy tests. He grabbed one and took a step before stopping. If it came up positive, he wasn't sure that she'd believe just one. He grabbed four more off the shelf and made his way to the front, getting into the aisle with the cashier he'd smiled at. She looked at all the tests and back up at him, raising an eyebrow._

"_I think my wife might be pregnant."_

_She nodded, and a moment later he was all checked out and carrying a bag instead of a bunch of pregnancy tests. He ducked into a nearby alley, quickly changed clothes and took off, passing their apartment and heading towards the farm. He landed a moment later, changing into his suit again as he walked into the house._

"_Mom? Jordan? You guys around?"_

"_Daddy!" Clark put the bag down on the counter as Jordan ran up to him, jumping into his arms. He swung her up into a hug, smiling as she kissed him on the cheek. _

"_Hey there, sweetheart. How are you?"_

"_Good. Grandma and I are coloring."_

_Clark walked with Jordan into the living room, finding his mom on the floor coloring, as advertised. She looked up at him and smiled. "Hi, Clark. What brings you around this early in the day?"_

_No point in getting her hopes up for another grandchild if there wasn't actually one. "Lois decided to take a half day today, and after talking to Perry I figured I would too so we could have a little midday family time."_

"_I can understand that. Jonathan and I always liked spending the day with you when you were Jordan's age, and older. Why don't you guys come out here this weekend?"_

"_We'll come out to the farm next weekend, mom. We told Chloe we'd spend this one in Gotham with the Wayne's. Why don't you come with us?"_

"_I don't want to impose, Clark. I'm lucky that I get as much time with you, Lois and my granddaughter as I do." She got up off the floor and walked over, kissing Jordan and him on the cheek. "Go, be with the family you've made. I know how precious that can be." _

_Clark smiled at her, returning the cheek kiss. "Love you, mom. I'll call you tonight."_

_Grabbing the bag as he walked out with Jordan, he put her down on the porch for a second as he changed into his Superman suit before picking her up again. "You ready to fly, Jordan?"_

"_Yeah!"_

_A few minutes later, they landed on the balcony of the apartment. Clark put Jordan down and opened the door, letting her into the apartment. He spotted Lois on the couch with her hand in between the cushions before she pulled it out, looking at him inquisitively. "What's going on, Smallville, and what's in the bag?"_

_Changing back into his work suit, he loosened his tie and pulled it off as he sat down next to her. He watched Jordan as she sat down and opened a coloring book, picking up where she'd left off at the farm. "You ok on your own for a few minutes, Jordan?"_

_Jordan nodded, not looking up from her coloring. Clark took Lois's hand and led her into their bedroom, leaving the door open a little as Lois turned around and faced him._

"_You want me to be zombie mom, don't you?"_

"_What? Oh, no. Well, yes, but not why you think. I have a theory on why you're feeling the way you do."_

_She gestured at him with a hand. "Do tell, Smallville."_

"_I think you're pregnant."_

_Her eyebrows climbed up her forehead as her mouth opened a little, but no sound came out of it. A second later, she shook her head. "What? Are you serious?"_

"_The only other time you've ever used the term stomach bug with me was when you were covering up your pregnancy with Jordan."_

"_But I haven't suspected anything!"_

"_I know, I know. Maybe it's subconscious. We've had plenty of experience with that sort of thing."_

_Lois frowned for a second before looking down at the bag. "What's in there?"_

"_First, answer a few questions for me. We already know you've been fatigued, but have you had to go to the bathroom a lot lately?"_

"_Yeah, but I drink a lot of water, so I always seem to go a little more than most people. Next?"_

"_Have your breasts been swollen?"_

_She raised an eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over her breasts before she answered. "Yeah, but they always get that way before my period, Smallville. You know that." _

_Apparently, this was not going to be a day where she made things easy. "Fine. I have an easy way of figuring this out that requires no questions." Clark walked over and dumped the bag out on the bed, showing her the five pregnancy tests._

"_Wow. You really think I'm pregnant, don't you?"_

"_Call it a hunch." Grabbing one of the tests, he opened it up and handed it to her. "It's very easy. They use blood now instead of urine. Just hold it to your finger, push the little green button and wait fifteen seconds."_

_Frowning at him, she grabbed the test and held it to her finger, pushing the button as she did so. "I can't believe you think I'm pregnant because of a bunch of random things that can be otherwise explained, Smallville." The thing beeped and she looked down at it. _

_Her eyes suddenly went wide. She grabbed another test and opened it, holding it to her finger and not looking at him as she pushed the green button. It beeped and she looked at it, apparently finding the same result. "Holy crap."_

_Clark smiled. "You're pregnant, aren't you?"_

"_No smiling yet, Smallville." She handed him a pregnancy test as she opened one. "You're going to do that one on me while I also do one." _

_Rolling his eyes, he did as she asked, and fifteen seconds later there were four positive pregnancy tests. Lois ran both of her hands through her hair, looking up at him. "Wow. I... I just... wow."_

_He pulled her into a hug, smiling as she wrapped her arms around him. He felt his shirt getting wet, and looked down at her. "Are you alright, Lo?"_

"_Yeah," she mumbled into his chest. She pulled away from him, smiling. "I'm happy, Smallville. I know, the crying isn't generally a happy thing for me, but this feels like a crying because I'm happy kind of occasion."_

_He pulled her into another hug, unable to suppress his grin. "Yeah, it does feel like that. We're gonna have a baby, Lo."_

"_A little you, Smallville."_

"_Based on history, I'm thinking it more likely we get a little you."_

_She laughed and pulled away again, rubbing the tears out of her eyes. "God, that's still a scary thought, even with a kid under our belt. I can't believe that all it took was that one time back in August."_

"_It only took once to conceive Jordan, too."_

"_Yeah, I remember you saying that." She laughed a moment. "When I said I was ready for another baby I didn't actually think it was going to happen that time! It takes most people months, and we get it in one shot." She started laughing, but it sounded a little more forced. "We picked a hell of a thing to be good at." _

_She went silent a moment before speaking again. "Last time I was pregnant, I lost my memory. Fortunately, that was also the last time I forgot. It was... what? Three and a half years ago?"_

"_Three years, six months, eight days. Your second longest and counting." _

"_Sounds right. So, yeah... my time was probably limited anyway." She smiled up at him sadly, crossed her arms and walked out of the room. Clark caught up to her halfway through the living room, wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his head on hers gently. He wished he knew what to say. She spoke before he could._

"_If it has to happen, Smallville, this is the best reason for it. Losing my memory because of a baby... I'd rather it be that instead of just a random loss. This makes it all seem a whole lot less pointless." She turned around in his arms. "I love you. Even when I don't remember, I love you and just haven't figured it out yet. When it happens... remember that."_

"_I know. I wish..." He sighed and kissed her shoulder. He didn't know why he kissed her shoulder, but it had happened and he went on. "If it makes you feel better, I enjoy brining you around to that conclusion, as hard as it can be to see you so lost."_

_Lois laughed, then looked over at Jordan, who he noticed was still sitting and coloring. Jordan smiled, and Lois smiled back at her, wiping a tear from her cheek. She walked over and scooped her up into a hug. Jordan wrapped her arms around her neck, hugging her back._

"_I love you, baby girl. No matter what, no matter when and in spite of everything else in the world, you are my daughter, and I love you more than anything."_

"_I love you too, mommy."_

_Clark walked over and wrapped them both in a hug. "And I love you guys, too." After a moment, he let both of them out and Lois put Jordan down. She went back to coloring and Clark followed Lois to the kitchen. She grabbed a glass and filled it up with water, taking a drink before speaking._

"_So, when am I going to get hit by the morning sickness?"_

"_I don't know. It could be soon, since you're about six weeks along. I don't remember when it started last time, exactly, because somebody didn't want to tell me right away."_

_She rolled her eyes. "Once again, my actions come back to bite me in the backside. I guess this explains why the Chinese didn't sit right last night, though." She took another sip of water, walking passed him into the living room. "I think, though, that we should go out for a big dinner tonight to celebrate."_

"_Where do you want to go, mommy?"_

_Clark smiled as Lois kneeled down next to Jordan "I want to go wherever you want to go, baby girl, because you are going to have a little brother or sister."_

"_I am?"_

_Clark walked over and got on the floor with them. "You are, Jordan. We just found out a little while ago."_

_Lois took Jordan's hand in hers and placed it on her stomach. "I know you can't feel it or see it, but your hand is right where the baby is. He or she is going to get bigger and bigger as time passes." She frowned at Clark for a second. "I remember the bigger part. Hopefully this one won't be quite as big as that one."_

"_I guess we'll see, won't we?"_

"_We will."_

"_Anyway," Lois said as she looked back to Jordan, "the new baby does mean some things are going to change."_

_Clark decided to chime in. "Like no more coffee for mommy, because she does things all or nothing."_

_Her head spun so quickly to focus on him that he barely saw the motion. The glare he got was all kinds of scary, but he held the fear in check and held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. How did Jordan look at it and not wither? "Sorry. Too soon to mention that?"_

"_No," she growled. "I just don't like the fact." She took a deep breath and her glare changed into a smile. She leaned over and kissed him softly, then pulled Jordan close. "It's alright, though, because we're having a baby. Never been happier to give up anything in my life."_

---

"So my main early pregnancy sign is being tired?"

"More like exhausted. You were really having trouble staying up past ten most nights until about the time you lost your memory."

Pulling herself up off the couch, Lois stretched and covered her mouth as she yawned. "I think listening to that story made me tired. I have a cure, though." Lois walked out of the living room and into the kitchen, opening up Chloe's freezer and finding chocolate ice cream. Smiling, she grabbed it and a couple spoons before heading back into the living room. "Ice cream: guaranteed to make the tired take a break for a little while as it gets overwhelmed by taste."

"I like your thinking, cuz." Chloe got up from Bruce's lap and walked over, taking the extra spoon from her and sitting down on the couch on the opposite side as Clark. Lois got a big scoop of ice cream and held it up.

"Cheers, Chloe."

Chloe got a big scoop and tapped it against hers. "Cheers, Lois."

They both downed their bites and Lois, figuring he might want some, scooped a bit of the ice cream and held the spoon out to Clark, who leaned over and quickly took the bite. He smiled at her and swallowed before speaking. "If you don't eat ice cream quickly around here, you don't get any."

About two seconds after he'd spoken, a bevy of children had surrounded her and Chloe asking for bites of the dessert. AJ even decided to get in the game by kicking a bit. Apparently Clark was right. She and Chloe doled out bites while also getting some for themselves, and very quickly the ice cream had disappeared, leaving only an empty cartoon behind as a farewell.

"That did _not_ last long."

"Like Clark said, you better eat it quickly or it's going to be gone."

"I'll keep that in mind next time," Lois said as she got up and took the empty carton to the trash. Walking back into the living room, she noticed Jordan yawn widely as she colored. When it happened again a moment later, she didn't bother sitting down and walked over to Jordan.

"You look sleepy, baby girl."

"Can we stay until I finish my picture?"

"How about we stay until your next yawn, alright?" When Jordan yawned in response, Lois smiled. "Held out as long as you could, didn't you? Let's go get your coat and you into it." She pulled Jordan up onto her feet and walked over with her, grabbing the coat off of a peg and getting it snug on Jordan. Lois picked her up and got her settled before walking back into the living room.

"You guys headed out?"

"Yeah, I want to get this one down while she's sleepy. With the late nap, I thought it might be late before she started with the yawning." Clark started getting up off the couch but Lois waved him back down. "Finish what you were talking to Bruce about. I can do this."

"You sure? She's one of my favorite things to help you with."

"I'm sure, Smallville." Lois turned to Chloe and Bruce. "Bruce, you headed back to Gotham tomorrow?" He nodded. "Alright, have a good flight then. Chloe, I'll see you at work in the morning."

"Before you go, cuz, I was thinking, do you want to leave Jordan here a couple times a week with the girls? I know they'd enjoy it."

"Yeah, that should be alright. What do you say, Smallville?"

"Should be fine. I'll talk to mom tomorrow morning. I don't know if she's going to enjoy the extra time or be mad at me for taking her only granddaughter away from her for part of the week. Probably the latter."

"I'm not going to the farm anymore?"

Lois turned her head and looked at Jordan. "You're still going to go to the farm most days, but how would you feel about spending two days every week here with Aly and Liz?"

"Alright."

"I thought so, too. Let's get you to bed."

"I won't be long, Lo." Lois smiled at him and walked out of the house.

The walk back to their house didn't take long, Jordan resting her head on her shoulder as they walked. The night had chilled even further, making Lois have to flex her hands a bit as she walked. One of these days she was going to have to remember to own a pair of gloves. Maybe she already did, who knew.

Closing the door behind her, she wasn't shocked to find that Jordan had fallen asleep in the minute walk to the house. She hadn't been her usual energetic self all evening, not after the nap. When she got to Jordan's bedroom she got her coat off, along with her clothes, and got her in pajamas, all without her waking up. She wished she could still sleep like that.

Shedding her own coat, she tossed it on her bed and slipped into some pajama pants and the plaid flannel she slept in more often than not of late. Sighing at the comfort of the clothes, Lois walked downstairs and into the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge and drinking a little of hit before heading into the living room. They still didn't have their television set up so there really wasn't much to do in the room unless she unpacked. Blech.

Looking around the room once more before heading up to read in bed, Lois stopped when she noticed the diary sitting on the chair. Had she left that there earlier? Jesus, talk about careless. Hiding things in plain sight was all well and good, but generally they had to blend in. This was a diary on a chair.

Grabbing it, she walked upstairs and turned on the light next to the bed, getting in and getting settled under the covers. She opened up the diary, flipping to the next entry she hadn't gotten to yet. Huh, it was from the day Clark had told the story about earlier.

September 23, 2021

Unless something huge happens, this is going to be my last entry in the diary. I'm fairly certain that I don't have a lot of time left with my memory, and I know this doesn't take very long, but I want to spend every minute I can with Jordan and Clark.

I actually sat down to write an entry earlier today just for the hell of it. I'd been tired all day at work and Clark persuaded me to take the afternoon off. I came home, and before I took a nap I wanted to put some thoughts down in here. Nothing major, judging by the fact that I can't remember any of them. There's a good reason for that, though.

I'm pregnant.

I would consider writing that again, but I assume that when this gets read, there will be some evidence of the second child, such as you being pregnant or a child belonging to you that isn't Jordan running around.

I, of course, have no idea what this child is named or looks like. He or she may be a very much like Jordan.

However this child looks or acts, I want to make a request of you. It's probably not one I need to make, knowing myself the way I do, but I'm going to do it anyway.

Please, please take care of Jordan, this baby Clark and the rest of the family. They need you, probably more than you realize. Since I can speak in depth for Jordan, I'll keep focus on that right now.

Jordan... she idolizes you. You're her mom; until you accept that, I don't know if you can understand what it means. You're also the loudest voice in her life, and I know that she hears you the most because of that. She already shows so many traits that I have, so many little quirks that the General says resemble the way I acted when I was her age.

When it comes to looks, she's almost all Clark, except for the eyes. Her personality, though...

It was one of the things I was always kind of worried about if I did have a baby. You know this, being me, but if you've zoomed through this thing at Clark speed, you may not have noticed just how much she's like us. I think that the Clark in her will dull the blunt and direct that we possess so much of, but I'm not placing any bets.

She's my life, though. I love Clark more than I could have ever thought possible. I love working for the Daily Planet more than any other person in the world enjoys his job. I'm going to love this new baby as much as I love Jordan, I know that. But right now, Jordan dominates everything for me.

You've seen how it's been in my diary entries. I start on one thing and I end up rambling on for pages about Jordan. She is what I think about whenever I do anything. How will an action affect Jordan? Will doing this or that impede with the time I spend with my daughter?

It's like I talked about last time, how I've tried to analyze motherhood and how it had changed me so completely. This is a direct part of it. I love her like nothing else in the world, so when I think about the world and my place in it, I automatically think about her place in the world too, and how I can keep her safe.

I know that I won't be able to keep her safe forever. I don't even know if I will need to keep her safe. She hasn't shown any abilities yet, but it's probably only a matter of time. I do reserve the right as her mother, though, to protect her. Abilities or not, it'll take a freaking arsenal to get through me and harm my daughter.

Of course, besides Jordan (and the embryo), I need you to take care of Clark as best you can. He's strong, so much stronger than he was when we lived in Smallville, but he's still got shreds of insecurity when he can't save somebody. That's his most vulnerable time. If you can be there for him then, even if you aren't in love with him, it will do more good than you can imagine.

(Yeah, I know there's an entry earlier in the diary about Clark not saving somebody, but it's important. Important enough to be written about again.)

Moving on, Chloe doesn't need you as much as she once did. Her family is so amazing, though. Bruce is happier than I ever thought possible. Jack is a Chloe clone with a different chromosome. And the twins... well, one is like Bruce and one is like Chloe. If those two stay close their entire lives, they're going to be a force to be reckoned with, maybe as much as the Chlo-Lo connection. I know it's saying a lot, but it also tells you what I think of them.

Lucy is great. She's got a great husband and two great sons. We don't get to see them much, but the limited time I've had with them is always good. Her boys are like their father, as far as I can tell, but I wouldn't put it past Lucy to have her genes sneaking around in there, waiting to pounce and bring out their inner spies. It's amazing that I found a way to have children that may be more complicated.

The General... daddy is good. Good health and living life happier than he'd been anytime since mom died, it's been amazing to get to know him again. He's daddy again, not just The General.

Martha has been Martha. Some things don't change with time. Enough said.

Really, I think that's all. But I have one last bit of wisdom for you that I hope you will take seriously: love.

I realize that I sound like a cheesy tv show writing this, but I'm writing in anyway.

Love is the key to your life. Love is the key to your happiness. Don't be afraid of it. Embrace it. Love Jordan without reservations, and it will be one of the greatest things you'll ever feel. Love Clark, and you'll feel something you never thought was possible: pure love from a man that loves you for who you are. Return that love, and you'll be happy.

It's all so damn sappy, but it's all so damn true. I wouldn't lie to you about this; you know that. I've always made it a point to NOT lie to myself. It all boils down to the next statement, though.

Believe that you're worthy of being loved, and your life will light up. Love those around you without question, and their lives will add exponential happiness to yours. Most of all, accept what comes and know that you can handle it and you'll never go wrong.

Thank you for taking care of my family.

She'd been speaking to herself. She could almost hear the words. She read them again, taking them in. She imagined herself writing them, knowing that she was going to forget soon, and it brought a tear to her eye. She'd been staring into the face of the unknown and been able to handle it, and made sure that after she forgot she would be able to handle it again.

Flipping through the following pages, they were all blank. That was the end. Should she write something now? She didn't really have anything to say. Frowning, she closed the diary and got out of bed, walking over to the dresser and kicking the secret drawer open. Placing the diary inside, she closed it again.

She didn't really feel like sitting in bed and reading. Clark would probably be home soon, so maybe they could do something together. There was always... no, she was already feeling the afternoon session. That would get to wait a day or two. Smiling at herself and her apparent insatiable libido, she grabbed her water bottle and walked downstairs again, looking for a sexual fulfillment stand in.

She looked into the freezer and found what she was looking for. God bless Clark Kent, always knowing to have ice cream around. She pulled the rocky road out and grabbed an ice cream scoop. It took a second, but she found a decent sized bowl and filled it up. She took her bowl and sat down at the table, moaning a bit as she took the first bite. Chocolate never seemed to fail.

Just after her second bite, she heard the door open and close. Clark started to walk by until she spoke. "Hey, Smallville. In here."

He stopped and turned around, smiling at her. "Didn't get enough earlier?"

She gave him a tight smile before taking another bite and speaking around it. "You could say that."

"Did Jordan go down easily?"

"She was out by the time we got here. Got her changed and into bed without the blink of an eye or a tiny snore."

Clark sat down next to her and took the spoon. He helped himself to a couple bites before handing it back. "She sleeps like her mother."

"Very funny, Smallville." She finished off the ice cream and pushed the bowl towards the middle of the table. "Ready for bed?"

"Yeah, I think I could use a little time close to my wife."

"You had a lot of time close to your wife today, Smallville."

"Is there such a thing as too much?"

Lois smiled and shook her head at him. "I haven't noticed. What say we get real close, Smallville?" Yeah, she was going to feel it tomorrow. Ice cream or no ice cream, though, there was no substitute for Clark Kent, not even chocolate.


	61. Chapter 61

---- Chapter 61

"Chief wants us in his office, Lo."

Lois looked up from the papers she'd been rifling through and at Clark. She frowned as he stepped into the office and spit the pencil between her teeth onto her desk. "Why? I haven't done anything crazy... yet."

"Yet?"

"There's a facility... you'll be with me, so it won't be that crazy. Anyway, what does Perry want us for?"

"Don't know. Chloe passed the message on to me, and she got it from Jimmy."

"We've been here the whole time! Why wouldn't he just call us?"

"His phone has been out all morning. He yelled, but we had the door shut until I went to talk to Chloe a minute ago. Thus, he gave Jimmy the message, and Jimmy had to go so he passed it on to Chloe when they saw each other in the hall. She was about to come over when I went to see her."

Lois scratched at her arm a moment and put the papers down on her desk. "That is ridiculously convoluted, even for our lives." She pushed herself up out of her chair and walked over to him. "Shall we go?"

Clark smiled and nodded, taking her hand and leading her through the bullpen to Perry's office. He moved to knock and she walked past him, going into the office without bothering to give Perry any notice. Clark followed and she heard the door shut behind her.

"Lois, Clark, it's about time."

"Sorry, Chief. Chloe just told me a minute ago."

He waved a hand at them. "Doesn't matter. I'm sending you two to London tomorrow."

Lois opened her mouth to say something, but found that she didn't have anything t to say to something so out of the blue and snapped her mouth shut. There was the obvious question as to why, of course, but that hadn't occurred to her right away. Clark beat her to it.

"London, Chief? You haven't sent us abroad in five years, at least not on purpose. Not that I'm opposed to going, but why can't the London bureau handle it?

"I don't want them to handle it because I want my best team on it. Plus, you two heave dealt with this before"

"And what is it?"

Perry handed each of them a file. Lois looked at him a second before opening the file and finding a whole bunch of information on a company she'd never heard of before, Insider Finances. She skimmed a couple pages before looking up at Perry. "Sooo... what? You want us to go investigate this company?"

"We already investigated them, Lo, in mid 2020. Pretty standard corruption story, sad as that is to say. The CFO was skimming off the top for all the big wigs. What I don't understand is the London part. It was a Metropolis based company."

"When the CFO agreed to testify against the others, he was given a reduced sentence of three years with the ability to be paroled after eight months. He made parole and quickly left the country afterwards. He has a new upstart company that's making waves in London. When you get to the last couple pages, you'll see what we have on it. I put the old stuff in there so you could get caught up, Lois.

"Unbeknownst to me, and apparently Clark, you have a source in the company that has been trying to get in contact with you. You two had some specific something or other you used to know it was him, and when you answered the phone and didn't go along with it, he figured something was amiss. I just got this in the mail a couple days ago with an explanation."

Lois was looking at the last couple pages a moment before speaking. "Why didn't he just mail it to me? If he talked to me, he knows I'm here. Heck, even Clark would have made more sense."

"I don't know, but since this is your source, I'm sending you two. You leave tomorrow , so take the rest of today to pack and spend some time with Jordan. All your flight info has been sent to your laptops and phones. I'm giving you ten days, and your cover story is your thing. See you next week."

Walking out of Perry's office, Lois kept her eyes on the file and let Clark guide her through th bullpen. The man was smart, she would give him that. She was no economist, and she figured it would take one to make total sense of what she was seeing, but fortunately she knew enough to know that these were not the financial records being released to the public.

When they got back to their office, Lois grabbed her purse and coat before walking over to Chloe's office and knocking.

"Come in!" Lois walked in and smiled at Chloe. "Hey, what did Perry want?"

"He's sending us to London tomorrow."

"Well that's unexpected. Why?"

"There's a company I have a source in, which I forgot about in November, and so when he couldn't get me he sent the info to Perry. Why, I don't know, but that's what happened. Perry put together files and is sending us to London so that we can nail a guy we caught in a corporate scandal a year and a half ago for the same thing."

"Ah, corporate scandal," Chloe said. "You guys get all the fun assignments. I'm stuck going to City Hall tomorrow to interview the Mayor on his Gubernatorial campaign. C'est la vie, no?"

Lois smiled and shrugged her coat on. "Appears that way. I wonder if I'll be able to see Lucy while we're over there... what do you think, Smallville?" Lois had heard him walk in and looked back over her shoulder at him.

"I think a visit to Lucy could be in the works. Ten days should be more than enough since Perry put the name of your source in the file: Kent McCrea."

"Guess I didn't get that far. Should make it pretty easy to get in, get out and have the story done. Wish I could remember the code we had for the phone to make it easier, but those are the breaks, I guess. Say, what are we going to do with Jordan?"

"I was planning on asking mom if she could watch her while we're gone. If she can't, Chloe, do you mind being the backup plan?"

Chloe made a show of scratching her chin and looking off thoughtfully. "I _guess_ I could do that for you. Ought to be a nice adventure watching four kids all by myself if Martha is slacking off."

"Good, good. Do you want to bring the kids over tonight and relax with us tonight? Since we can be packed in fifteen minutes, Clark in his way and mine in a much messier way, we should be done when you get home tonight."

"Don't you guys want to spend the evening with Jordan?"

Lois smiled and nodded. "She'll be there, too. I assume our flight leaves later in the day tomorrow, unless aviation has changed substantially in the last thirteen years. Since we're six hours behind them and a flight from Chicago took eight hours last I heard, and one probably takes about six or seven now... I bet we leave about 1a.m. London time which would be 7 tomorrow evening."

She frowned as Chloe looked at her and then at Clark, who she noticed was rubbing a hand over his face and back through his hair. "What? It was just a little speculation."

"You're little speculation was all of eight minutes off. I checked my phone when you walked over here and our flight time is 6:52 tomorrow evening. How did you do that?"

"You traveled the world helping people in your own way, however it is you fly. I traveled the world on airplanes and taught myself how the system works. It took about an hour to work out once I had learned all the time zones and looked up flight times for a few airlines."

"Learn something new about you everyday, Lo." He kissed her on the temple and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Ready to go? Earlier than usual, but I don't think 11:15 is too early for lunch if you want to stop somewhere before I go pick up Jordan."

"Sounds good. Chloe, care to join? Our treat, for once."

She held up some papers. "Sorry, some of us actually have to work today, but thanks anyway. I'll see you guys tonight at dinner."

Lois waved goodbye and walked out with Clark. They were the only ones in the elevator as it descended the numerous floors without interruption for once. "What do you feel like doing for lunch, Smallville?"

"Call me boring, but I was thinking we should hit a burger joint. I know of this great little place in downtown Austin with greasy burgers that you'll love."

"So not only do you know a great barbeque place outside Austin, but you know a burger joint in the middle of it? Did you spend a few weeks there searching for food down there?"

"Ah, no. We actually spent a few days there for a story in 2015 and you found them."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "You're stealing my work and claiming if as your own?"

"Never said I found the places, just that I know of them."

"Getting out on a technicality, Smallville. Very cheap."

"Alright, that was really good. I shouldn't be surprised since I do find awesome places to eat."

She heard Clark groan behind her and smiled. "Why, why did I have to tell you that you were the one to find the food places? Honesty is the best policy my foot. Making love to my wife as much as possible is the best policy. Telling her how awesome she is will only inflate her ego and give her more ammunition to shoot at me."

"You're talking to yourself in public, Smallville. I haven't driven you insane with my awesomeness, have I? It's happened before to people with more will power."

"I'm sure it has, Lo. You want to walk The Drag a little bit before we head home?"

"The Drag?"

"The street we're on. They call it The Drag around here."

Lois looked down the street, looking at all the small stores and whatnot running along it before shaking her head. "Nah. Let's head back and get packed. I would like to spend as much time with Jordan as I can." She paused a second as he wrapped her in his arms and sped them to the secluded area they'd landed in. He'd already changed into his Superman suit. "It hasn't even been two months and I can't imagine not seeing her for ten days."

"It's been more than three years and I can't imagine ten days without her. I don't know that I've gone ten days without seeing her since she was born." He pulled her up into his arms and they took off. "If you get really homesick, or Jordan-sick as it may be, we can always fly home and see her. As you've noticed, returning isn't a big deal."

"How long does a flight to London take you?"

"By myself, not very long. With you, about an hour to be safe. We've never actually flown to London before, not straight from Metropolis, but we honeymooned in Spain and that took about an hour. I imagine London wouldn't be much longer."

They landed in their backyard a few minutes later, Clark letting Lois down from being in his arms as they walked inside. She walked in front of him upstairs, going into their room and closet to pull out the suitcase that had been stored there two days before. Yanking it down, she pulled it out of the closet and threw it onto the bed.

"I could have done that, Lo."

"And I already did it, Smallville. I'm going to do things for myself as long and as much as I can during this pregnancy. Since I never make the time to go work out or do prenatal yoga or whatever it is one is supposed to do, the little things will help me from gaining fifty pounds. I don't want to gain fifty pounds while pregnant; it's too much."

"Well yeah, ok. I have no problem with that, and expected it... it's just that you pulled out my suitcase." After a slight pause, he spoke again. "Thanks, by the way."

Lois looked away from Clark and frowned at the suitcase. She hadn't even looked before she'd grabbed; it had been the first one she'd seen, and therefore it had been the one she pulled down and out. Blowing hair out of her eyes, she looked back at Clark. "You're welcome."

"You mind if I return the favor?"

"No, no," Lois said. "I'll get it. I still need to exert the effort, little and useless as it may be."

She did so and flopped it down on the bed next to Clark's. Opening it up, she started wishing that the clothes hadn't been unpacked in such a timely fashion Saturday night. Running a hand back through her hair, she walked over to the dresser and pulled open her underwear drawer, grabbing a handful and taking them over to the suitcase.

She noticed her maternity underwear mixed in with what she'd grabbed. She'd talked to Chloe about it and had been told she could wear normal underwear under the bump, or get the specialized stuff. Then, of course, Chloe had given her an unopened pack of the stuff and she'd tried it. When it hadn't been any worse, she'd thrown it in with all her other stuff.

Shoving her thoughts aside, she went about her packing in her usual manner, getting everything in her suitcase in a way that resembled organized. She flipped it shut but left it unzipped, in case there was anything she'd forgotten. Turning around, she was walking back to the closet when she spotted Clark watching her. "What?"

"I like watching you."

She rolled her eyes and yelled back at him from over her shoulder as she grabbed a few items out of the bathroom she'd forgotten. "You never forget those stalker tendencies, do you?"

"I never stalked, despite your insistencies that I used my telescope for such things back on the farm. Plus, you're very focused when you pack and seem to forget I'm around, which gives me prime opportunities to observe you."

She fought the urge to toss moisturizer at him as she walked back to her suitcase. "_Observe_ me? You make it sound like I'm in captivity."

Clark smiled and walked towards her, doing his best to look stealthy. He affected a British accent and Lois thought it could use some work. "They said it couldn't be done, but I caught the last wild Lane and domesticated her. She is now my mate and having my children. She didn't even know it was happening until it was too late to resist. She has no desire to escape left in her."

Lois had to bite her lip to prevent herself from breaking out into laughter. Had he really just said that? "Smallville, I've heard a lot of things in my day, most of which I've forgotten, but I can say with near certainty that you've just uttered the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

"The odd thing in the case of the last wild Lane is that she doesn't realize she's been domesticated. While some would say that it's a sign she hasn't been fully tamed, the wild Lane is a special case. Much like it's cousin, the Sullivan, being domesticated doesn't stop it from acting on its impulses. No, it simply gives her forethought, should she choose to use it."

Lois walked over and stood right in front of him. "Smallville, am I going to have to show you just how wild and untamed I am?"

"The wild Lane attempts to assert herself through acts of sexuamph..."

Lois shut him up with a kiss. She figured it would take more than that to keep him from rambling like that again. She was happy to oblige.

"You really don't have to go through so much trouble to get me to sleep with you, Smallville." She kissed his chest and ran her hand over his stomach, tracing the muscles. "It's so much fun that it'll happen without the whatever it was you were doing."

"That wasn't even intended to end up that way. I was just having fun and ran with it."

"So we're calling this running now?"

"We've called it everything else at some point."

She looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Are you serious?"

"I am. When we first got together, you called it happy time, and after that came workout, break time and the Naked Olympics. After you forgot in 2016, it started out as, and I kid you not, 'Bring in 'Da Noise, Bring in 'Da F-ck.'"

"_What_?"

"That one lasted all of saying it once. You said we were making love, not doing what that word implies, and just thought it sounded clever."

"I agree with myself on that one. So, what else did I call it?"

Clark went silent for a moment before speaking. "There was dancing, forking, tumbling, working up a sweat, Summer Lovin' and Afternoon Delight. That was your song title phase. Ther ewere some others after that."

Lois sat up and looked back at Clark, unconsciously rubbing her stomach when AJ kicked. "I've really called making love to you all those things?"

"You have. I never asked why. After the third time you did it, I figured it was just something you had always done. Since you continued after forgetting the last two times, it added weight to the theory."

"Huh. Well, care to go running again?"

"I can't believe pot roast only takes three hours to cook now." Lois forked another bite into her mouth, savoring the taste as she chewed. She looked over at Clark, smiling as she swallowed. "Also, it tastes awesome."

"Thanks, Lo. How do you like it, Jordan?"

Lois looked over at her, smiling as she picked up a piece with her hand and put it in her mouth. "It's good, daddy. I like the carrots."

"Cooked carrots are so much better than raw carrots, aren't they baby girl?" Jordan nodded at her, taking a bite of one to show she agreed.

"You guys really didn't have to go to so much trouble." Lois looked over at Chloe, who was sitting between Jack and the twins. "I was thinking we were going to do something like pizza. I'm not complaining, because this is as amazing, as usual, but you put in too much effort."

"I guess I picked up enjoying cooking for family from mom" Clark said around a bite of potato. "It's not all that much trouble unless you're impatient." Lois noticed him motioning his head towards her and smirked at him.

"I would argue with you, but I'm too busy eating this wonderful I was in no way impatient about getting done."

Once dinner was done, they migrated into the living room. Clark put a movie on for the kids to watch while Lois and Chloe sat on the couch. He sat down in the chair next to it and put his socked feet up on the coffee table, relaxing back into the chair. Lois did the same, resting her hands on her ever expanding stomach.

"This has been a good night."

"I second that, Lo."

After that, they seemed to get lost in the movie along with the children. Aside from moving over to sit in the chair with Clark, which she didn't notice she'd done until she had to go to the bathroom and found she wasn't getting off the couch, she was able to just curl up and enjoy herself. When the movie ended, Chloe headed home and Lois went with Clark to put Jordan down for the night.

"When are you getting back, mommy?"

Lois ran her hands through Jordan's hair gently. "We'll be back before you even notice we're gone, baby girl. If you need us, you can call us from Grandma's house on our cell phones."

"But what if there are monsters and I need the special water?"

"When we found out we were being sent to London, I called Grandma and told her about the special water so that she would know what to do. You'll be safe from everything with Grandma, I promise."

"Ok."

Lois felt her heart melt a little at how timid that sounded. God, she hated that Jordan had any reservations about being away from them. She curled up behind the little girl and pulled her close. "I promise that nothing will happen while we're gone, Jordan. You'll have so much fun with your Grandma that we'll get back and you'll say 'But you just left!' We love you too much to be away from you when something could happen."

When she didn't get an answer, Lois gently pulled Jordan's hair aside and found she'd already fallen asleep. She placed a soft kiss on her temple before getting up and walking out of her room.

Lois walked back to where Clark was sitting and sat down in the chair next to him, handing him the bottle of water he'd requested when she'd told him she was going to get a snack. She took a bite out of one of the candy bars she'd gotten, chewing a moment before speaking. "Was that as difficult for you as it was for me?"

"Was what as difficult?"

"Leaving Jordan. I know I'm going to see her in ten days, but leaving her at your mom's house was like having a tooth pulled."

"Ah, that. Yeah, that wasn't the most pleasant thing ever. I'm just glad she doesn't have the separation anxiety she had when she was smaller. She hated being more than five feet from you."

"I hate being more than five feet from her," Lois mumbled as she took another bite.

She looked up at the television in front of her and let herself drown in the news for a moment before they called their flight to boarding. Once they were on the plane and settled, Lois started in on the magazines she'd bought. Half an hour and a takeoff later, she had finished off the magazines and was bored.

"Tell me a story, will ya Smallville?"

He opened his eyes and looked over at her. "I figured that was coming. You always seem to fly through your reading material unless you have a book. Alright, so, when we last left off, we had just found out you were pregnant. The next story comes two days later."

---

_Clark smiled as Jordan held out her arms to be picked up. She was doing it less and less the older she got. He pulled her up and into his arms, smiling at her. "What brings you into my arms, Jordan?"_

_She shrugged and laid her head down on his shoulder. Apparently she just wanted a place to rest her head. Eh, he was alright with it. His shoulder had rarely had a better use than giving his daughter someplace to put her head. He ran his hand lightly over her back as he walked into the bedroom and found Lois pulling on a shirt._

"_Weren't you wearing a different shirt like, three minutes ago?"_

"_I was, but I decided to go with something more comfortable. What's up with Jordan?"_

"_I don't know. I think she's missing the nap that she never took this afternoon. Are you sleepy, sweetheart?"_

_Jordan shook her head but it wasn't too enthusiastic. Clark nodded to Lois, and she shrugged. "She refused her nap like eight times, didn't you baby girl? I figured if she wanted to stay up this time, she could, and she'd get an energy boost when she saw her cousins, two of which were actually napping when we got here." _

_Clark nodded, following Lois as she walked out into the hallway. "Remember Smallville, no hints. That goes double for you, baby girl. Mommy wants to surprise Aunt Chloe with this."_

_He felt her nod a bit and followed Lois again, this time down the stairs and onto the first floor of the manor. They walked back to the kitchen where they found everybody congregating. Clark smiled and put Jordan down so she could join Aly and Liz next to the kitchen table. _

"_Did you change shirts, cuz?"_

"_Yeah. This one is much more comfortable, but the other is better for flying. Well, that's a lie, but it's my excuse for why I bothered to put it on this morning." _

"_As good an excuse as any." _

_Clark was handed a glass of water by Bruce and he nodded at him before looking back over at Lois and Chloe. Truth was, they both liked to watch their wives interact with one another. It was like watching two people that had been separated for ten years and we're getting to know each other again with all the information they had to share. _

_Clark had wanted Lois to call Chloe and tell her about the baby the night they found out. He'd done that with his mom, and she'd done it with Sam and Lucy, but she'd refused to call Chloe, saying that it was something she wanted to tell her in person. He hadn't argued, knowing it wouldn't do any good anyway. _

_A little while later they sat down to dinner, finding numerous kinds of Italian food on the table. "Wow. You guys really went all out."_

"_We like to have nice food whenever you guys are over here."_

_Lois laughed as she put some spaghetti on Jordan's plate. Clark took a bread stick and munched on it as he waited for Lois to pass it over to him. "Chloe, we're over here almost every other weekend. I mean, it's at least one weekend a month. Some months we spend more Saturday's here than we do in Metropolis."_

"_I know, but we do it because we love you, so accept it and enjoy just how amazing this food is."_

_Clark enjoyed it as he took a bite of his freshly scooped spaghetti. Smiling, he took one of the pieces of homemade pizza and put it down on his plate next to the couple pieces of bread and aforementioned noodles covered in sauce. _

_It was all delicious. The meal seemed to fly by and they were quickly eating dessert, which was of all things cookie cakes. As Clark took a bite, he raised the question of why, and Chloe answered._

"_I didn't want to do regular old cake. We seem to do that a lot whenever you guys are here, so I wanted to venture off the beaten path. Well, the caked path, anyway."_

"_Ya know, I'm alright with it," Lois said. "I haven't had cookie cake since I was a kid, or at least not in the last three and a half years."_

"_You haven't had it whenever you were with me."_

"_Me either, Lo," Clark said as he smiled at her. "Maybe we can do it at one of Jordan's birthday parties in the future." _

_As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he knew he shouldn't have said it. Lois had been extremely focused on the present and living in the now because she didn't think she had much time left. He'd tried talking about it, but it only left her feeling like she was a terrible mother for the fact that she was going to forget Jordan. He ran a hand across her back and smiled at her, hoping she wouldn't get down because of it. When she smiled at him, he knew that she was alright._

_After dessert, they spent some time with the kids before Jordan and the girls were basically falling asleep on each other. Jack had played in a baseball game earlier in the day and was tired, taking him into dreamland not long after the girls. They were all standing around in the kitchen talking. _

_In a lull, Lois suddenly spoke. "We have news!" He looked over at her a second and she smiled sheepishly at him. "Sorry, the pressure of it was getting to me."_

"_Well, she was really putting the question to you." She glared at him, and he smiled. "Alright, you can do the honors."_

_Lois turned away from him to face Chloe and Bruce. Lois took a deep breath in before speaking. "I'm pregnant."_

"_WHAT?"_

_Clark looked over at Chloe, who had basically shrieked her response. "Wow, Chloe. That was almost a high enough pitch that I'd have been the only person in the room to hear it."_

"_Sorry, it's just..." She looked over at Bruce and he nodded, resting a hand on her shoulder. She smiled at him before turning back to Lois. "I'm pregnant, too!"_

"_What? Seriously?"_

"_Very seriously. I just found out yesterday."_

_There was some incomprehensible shrieking that sounded like it was happiness induced, and they each ran around the island and embraced each other in a hug. Clark didn't know if he'd ever seen Lois act quite so girly without being undercover. He looked to Bruce, who was watching the women. "This could either be a lot of fun or the longest nine months of our lives."_

"_That's very true. I think that we could be pleasantly surprised about it, though, at least until they each get to seven or eight months. Chloe might almost be used to it since this is the third time around."_

"_Yeah, Lois remembers it, too, and those last couple months had her... tense."_

_Bruce nodded and a moment later the women joined them again, no longer wrapped up in whatever they'd been talking about. "So, Smallville, it's been determined that we're in the lead."_

"_The lead of what?"_

"_The lead of the pregnancy race! Chloe found out yesterday, and since I found out Thursday, we're in the lead. Way ahead, in my book, and out of reach."_

"_One day. One stinking day is all the difference, cuz! There's no lead!"_

_Lois stuck her tongue out at Chloe, causing Clark to roll his eyes and wrap an arm around her shoulders. "I know this idea is going to just be the worst thing either of you has ever heard, but is there any chance we could, ya know, just call it a tie?"_

_His suggestion was met with laughter from both the women in the room._

"_Funny, Smallville."_

"_Yeah, Clark. Do you know who you're talking to? This was destined to be a competition."_

"_Destined? Destined by whom, the Gods of not having any protection at hand?"_

"_Were you guys not trying for this one?"_

_Clark looked down at Lois, who dropped her head a moment before looking back up at him. "C'mon, Smallville. You didn't have to tell her that this baby was the result of me being impatient and telling you I'd be ready for another baby."_

"_And you were going to lie to her?" He looked over to Chloe. "I don't know about you guys, but our embryo is the result of short planning."_

"_How short?"_

"_About five to ten minutes."_

_Bruce nodded and Chloe smiled. "We've been trying for this one a couple months. But who cares? We're having babies!" Chloe suddenly closed her eyes and winced. "Jesus, I could be having babies again. If it's twins again, I think my body may fall apart. My back will certainly hate me."_

"_Oh, yeah," Lois grumbled. "Mine wasn't exactly fond of that last bit either."_

_After a couple minutes of grumbles at what was coming, Lois an Chloe were all smiles again. They all went and sat down in the den, Lois having cuddled up next to Clark as he sat down. He wrapped an arm around her and looked over at Bruce when he spoke. _

"_If you guys don't mind me asking... what does this mean for your memory, Lois?"_

_He felt Lois sigh, and let one loose himself. "Well, we discussed it, and since I probably didn't have a whole lot of time left with it anyway, we figure this is the best reason there could be for me to lose what I've gained these last three and a half years. If I don't, ya know, that'd be great, but we'll be prepared this time."_

"_I'm glad that you two know it's coming this time," Bruce said before Clark saw him pull Chloe a little closer. He did the same with Lois before raising up his glass of water. _

"_To the children in our lives: be they internal or external, may they know more happiness than we do right now, if such a thing is possible."_

"_Hear hear," they all said, taking drinks from their glasses. _

_Silence enveloped them for a few minutes until Lois and Chloe started talking again. Clark smiled and held her tight to him. This was going to be one hell of a nine months._

---

Lois stared out the window of the plane, thinking about how recent that had been. It was still difficult to believe that something so recent was something she couldn't remember. She chewed on her lip a moment before looking back at Clark. "How's the nine months been so far, Smallville?"

"Pretty good. Aside from you losing your memory, your morning sickness wasn't half as bad as it was with Jordan and when it was bad, you could still eat more than just crackers. The only odd thing, though, was that you started showing later with Almond Joy than you did with Jordan."

"Why's that odd?"

"Usually women show earlier with their second children than their first. The muscles in the uterus and abdomen are more elastic, or something like that. It might just be the abdomen; I don't remember exactly what the baby books said."

Lois looked out the window again, watching as a middling sized city passed underneath them. The story hadn't even taken long enough to get hem out over water. "It's not like my pregnancies are the most normal in the world, Smallville. It might literally be something new each time, who knows."

She looked back at him and smiled. "Besides, when have we ever wanted anything normal?"

"Been at least a decade since I wanted anything normal."

"Exactly. So, since this flight still has a good bit of distance to cover, how about you tell me another story."

"I'll wait."

She raised an eyebrow and poked him in the arm. "You'll wait?"

"There's only one left. It's not really much of a story, really, but it's all I've got and I'm saving it for the flight back."

"Ten days! You're going to make me wait ten days to listen to the story after telling me it's the last one? That's just mean!"

"You know what they say, Lo: always leave 'em wanting more."

"For this, Smallville, you're going to be left wanting. You are SO going to be left wanting the whole time we're in London, and even when we visit Lucy on Sunday."

Crossing her arms over her chest, she frowned at the seat in front of her for a few minutes. Clark wasn't saying anything, and finally th silence got to her. Instead of speaking, though, she leaned her head over on him and closed her eyes. "Wake me when we're in London, Smallville."

"You got it, Sailor."

This was going to be a long trip.


	62. Chapter 62

---- Chapter 62

Lois looked at the building, frowning. It was modest, but a lot more shining than she would have expected. Apparently Foremost Funds was doing well quickly, just like Perry had said. Another few years and the guy would build or buy his own thirty story building. Some time in prison obviously hadn't hurt his money skills.

"Ready to go in, Lo?"

Lois tapped her fingers on her stomach a couple times before nodding and walking ahead. She saw Clark catch up to her and walk at her side out of the corner of her eye. "I wish I could remember what the code I had with this guy was. Walking in there and saying that Lois Lane is here to see Kent McCrea seems like it could tip off bells up top, since we put the guy away. And seriously, what are the chances my contact has the same first name as your last name?"

"You probably just did that for the fun of it. As far as names go, we can use the aliases we usually do: Lola Kane and Jonathan Tierny."

"Yeah, that seems like it would be a good idea. Did you name yourself after you dad?"

"Yup."

Lois smiled as they walked inside the building, finding a smiling woman sitting at the front desk. Lois smiled as she walked up to her. "Hi. Lola Kane and Jonathan Tierny to see Kent McCrea."

"One moment, please." Lois waited as the woman checked with the informant before they were allowed to pass. Walking to the elevator, they got in and took it up to the second floor. They made their way past some cubicles before getting to the guys office. Lois knocked once when the door was opened.

"Lola! John! How good to see you! Please, please come in."

Lois shuffled into the office and sat down in one of the chairs as Kent closed the door behind Clark. He sat down next to her before Kent turned around and waved his arms about wildly.

"What the hell are you doing here, Lane? My boss knows you by sight! If he finds out I'm leaking information..."

"Hey! Calm down, Mr. Jumpy. Have a seat and we'll talk."

Kent frowned at her as he walked around the desk and sat down. "Why didn't you use the usual precautions when trying to make contact? You came up with them yourself, for Christ sake! Had I known you were coming to London, I'd have taken time off and we'd have met somewhere you wouldn't be recognized by somebody with a grudge!"

"Those places are far and wide, Kent. As for the precautions, I've had some memory problems of late, what with the pregnancy. It's making my brain only half useful sometimes. And as far as you being found out, I don't leak my sources. Ever."

"Fine, fine." He looked away from Lois to Clark. "You must be the loving husband, Clark Kent. Like that last name, by the way."

"And I like your first name. We're here because what you sent us wasn't enough for our editor to take to press."

Lois jumped in. "The records you sent us implicate the company, but nothing specifically points to the head honcho. He may not take the fall with this. As I understand it, I got you to be my informant to take down the big man, Michael Morton, in case he resumed previous activities."

"I don't have anything on him that you could use right now. I could probably get something in the next couple days, assuming Michael takes his usual afternoon off this week."

"Good, great." Lois stood up, cracking her neck as she did so. It hadn't loosened up from the crick she'd gotten sleeping on the plane. "You can get in touch with us on my cell number." She took a pen and wrote it on the corner of a piece of paper before handing it to him. "We'll be here until the end of next week, so if you can't get your hands on something ASAP, we'll still be here next week."

"Great, fantastic. I'll be in touch."

Clark stood up and opened the door for Lois and she walked out, waiting for him as he closed the door behind himself. They got out of the building without anybody giving them a second glance.

"Do you remember what this Michael Morton guy looks like, Smallville?"

"I do. I was keeping an eye out for him going into and walking out of the building."

"Good to know. Aside from the guy being a bit jumpy, that went pretty smoothly, especially with what you've told me about some of our source meetings over the years. It's really too bad I couldn't have given him some warning, but sometimes guys caught off guard give information more easily."

Lois felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and she smiled at him as they walked. "So, it's 4:20 here in London on our first day here. We've already done half of the business part of this business trip, so what do you want to do for pleasure?"

"I want to go see Lucy, actually."

"She lives _here_? Jesus, did she win the French lottery or something?"

Lois stared at the house, running a hand back through her hair to put it in some semblance of order after the flight. She'd been all set to complain to Clark about the wind until he'd landed and they'd walked around the corner, standing in front of a monstrous and old house. It was no Wayne Manor, but it also probably doubled the size of their house with ease.

"Paul's a very successful lawyer, Lo."

"I should say so," she mumbled. "Seriously, what's up with all my family members having boatloads of money?"

"One of those things in life, I guess."

"Out of curiosity, does she know about you being who you are?"

"Yes. Paul doesn't, though."

They walked up the walkway and got to the door, Lois ringing the bell. She heard a couple boys yell before the door was yanked open. "Aunt Lois!"

Lois's legs were mobbed by the two boys she'd heard in the house. She looked up at Clark, eyes wide. He smiled and leaned over, whispering in her ear. "Tommy is the older, Jay the younger."

Lois nodded at him, hugging each with one hand before letting them go to run inside. After a second, she followed, and found Lucy walking down the stairs. Her sisters face lit up and she sped up her steps, virtually jogging into a hug. Smiling, she embraced her sister. Lucy took a step back and looked her up and down.

"Look at you! I didn't think I was going to get to see you while you were pregnant, again."

"You didn't make it to Metropolis when Jordan was gestating?"

Lucy nodded and started guiding Lois through the house. "I was pregnant with Jay at the time and a whole host of other things just piled up on us to keep it from happening. I got a few pictures, but it's just not the same."

Lucy stopped and put her hands on Lois's stomach, and she fought to keep from rolling her eyes. It was the first thing everybody did to her anymore. After a second Lucy pulled away and just looked at her. "Alright, enough doting on the unborn niece or nephew. How are you, Lois?"

Lois shrugged. "It's been quite an experience, these last seven weeks. Wake up sans memory, with a daughter that acts like me and a fetus residing in my uterus... well, it took some work but I think I've adjusted nicely."

"I'm glad." Lucy started walking again and took them into a big living room, sitting down in a chair as Lois and Clark did the same. "How long did it take you to fall in love with Jordan?"

Lois smiled, looking down at her lap. "With the way I feel now, long enough that I feel a little ashamed that I didn't fall in love with her instantly. In real time, that translates to about ten hours."

"And how long did it take you to fall for your big, lovable husband?"

Lois felt herself blush as she glanced at Clark and looked at Lucy. "An embarrassingly short thirteen days."

"If it were Paul and I, I doubt that I would last ten. Don't be embarrassed about falling in love, sis. Love at first sight or years sorting tings out before it happens, it's the best thing in life."

Well, that was certainly something she'd never expected to hear from her sister. She didn't think she'd ever heard Lucy speak so eloquently without quoting something before. "I guess love has been good to you."

Lucy smiled, scratching at her arm. "Love has been very good to me. Paul is an amazing husband and father." Lois raised an eyebrow as Lucy grinned that familiar devious grin. "I bet you never thought that I'd settle down and be happy, did you?"

"To be honest, no. I also never thought that my sister would be a government spy."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Clark told you about that, did he?"

"He did. I was fairly shocked, considering all the times you seemed to run afoul of the law. The fact that the government actually took your talents and put them to use is... well, the only thing I've been able to figure out is that daddy recommended you or something."

"Something like that." Just as she spoke, they were joined by Tommy and Jay, the latter climbing up into his mother's lap. Lucy smoothed his hair a bit before looking over to her. "I guess you met the munchkins when they answered the door."

"I did." She looked at them a second before looking back up at Lucy. "They look a lot like daddy, don't they?"

Lucy laughed, nodding. "They do, and he's thrilled about it. He see's great things in their futures, and is hoping for at least one military man. Has he mentioned to you that he wouldn't mind Jordan being military?"

"No, he failed to mention that. I'm fairly certain that Jordan would fare about as well in the military as you and I would, which is not well. She asks almost as many questions as I've been told I did when I was her age."

The rest of the day passed quickly, Lois and Clark eating dinner with Lucy and sharing some good conversation and catch up stories before flying back to London for the night. Lucy had offered them a room, but Lois wanted to be in London if Kent wanted a face to face. It seemed unlikely, but they had the room and may as well put it to use.

Yawning as they walked into the room, Lois pulled off her coat and tossed it on the small couch that was in the room before slipping out of her shoes. She dug through her suitcase a moment before pulling the flannel shirt out and stripping off the shirt she'd been wearing all day so she could get into it. She smiled as she buttoned it up and let her pants drop down to the floor.

Pulling the covers back on the bed, she got snuggled down into it and waited for Clark to join her, which he did a second later.

"It was nice catching up with Lucy today."

Clark wrapped an arm around her as she rested her head on his chest. "I'm glad you had a good time. How many times are we going to be back there while we're here?"

"Two or three, maybe more. I doubt that we get to this part of the world all that often, and I also doubt Lucy gets to Metropolis with any frequency, so seeing her now maybe be the most I see her for a couple years."

"We can see her as much as you want, Lo. It's not a big deal. If you're worried about missing a chance to meet with Kent, I can fly back pretty quickly for any meetings, and if there's time we both can."

Smiling, Lois let her eyes close. "You're amazing, Smallville. I love you."

"Love you too. Goodnight."

She felt on edge. No, that was too strong a phrase for this. It was more of feeling like she was on the edge of being on the edge. Waiting had never been her strong suit, and suddenly she was doing more of it than she'd expected to. Six days. Six days and no word from Kent. Lois turned away from her laptop and looked at Clark, who was lounging on the bed. "Why haven't we heard anything?"

"Any number of reasons, Lo. You know that these things rarely go as planned, especially when we're involved. I think in our lives the abnormal is the normal and normal is a foreign concept."

"You couldn't have just said the normal is the abnormal?"

"Would have been too normal."

"Hilarious," Lois mumbled. She set her laptop aside, which was quickly becoming more and more difficult to use on her lap, and pushed herself up off the couch so that she could pace. After a few paces, she was bored with it. She needed to do something.

She'd already tried sex as an outlet for her energy a couple days before, but that had been too good and she'd almost slept through a call from Jordan. Clark had answered and she'd woken up just in time to get a few words in, but she didn't want to sleep through a call from Kent.

Frowning, she thought about what she'd just thought. After sex, she was the one to fall asleep. So many clichés in the world about men falling asleep after sex, and here she was doing it. Had to be AJ. Even if this was supposed to be the one part of the pregnancy where she wasn't exhausted, it had to be AJ.

Rubbing her forehead, she sighed. How did that matter, at all? Apparently all this waiting around and doing nothing was driving her a little more crazy than usual.

Biting her lip, Lois walked over to her bag and grabbed her phone, scrolling through numbers until she got to the farm. She had it start dialing and put it to her ear, waiting through a few rings before there was an answer.

"Hello?"

Lois frowned at the phone before speaking. "Jordan? What are you doing answering Grandma's phone?"

"Hi, mommy! I asked her if I could answer it and she said yes because it would probably be you."

"Oh, alright then." How the hell had Martha known It was going to be her? Shaking it off, Lois sat down and smiled, happy to hear Jordan's voice. "So, baby girl, how are you?"

"I'm good. Grandma has been teaching me how to make pie, but I'm not very good."

She was learning to make pie? She's three! "Jordan, mommy has tried to learn how to make pies for a long time and I never got it. Hopefully you aren't like me when it comes to cooking."

"Grandma says I can be really good at it. She says that when I'm older and can do things by myself, I'll make pies as good as hers."

"Well I'm waiting for the day that's true, because I intend to be eating all the ones you make along the way."

Speaking with Jordan relaxed Lois and allowed her to enjoy a little bit of the afternoon. She was about to hang up with her when her phone beeped. She looked at it and found that it was the number she had memorized for Kent.

"Baby girl, I'm going to have to hang up now so I can do some work. I love you and I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye, mommy."

Lois pushed the call waiting button on her phone. "Lola Kane here."

"Lola! So nice to speak to you. I've been able to get those papers together for you and Mr. Tierny and am forwarding them to you via email. If you need anything else, please don't hesitate to call me."

"I won't, Mr. McCrea. Thank you." Lois Closed her phone and turned to Clark. "Check the email." She laughed a second. "He was not hesitant about intimating that he didn't want any more face to face meetings."

Clark did so, and a moment later they were looking at the documents that they needed. Lois sat back on the bed, grinning. "Finally. The only thing in all this is I don't really understand why we had to come to London to do this. I love it here, but I really could have just called."

"We got a free trip to London, Lo, without you having to wear a big thick coat during the flight. I don't think it was necessary, but maybe Perry just wanted to be nice to us. I think he knows that once Almond Joy is born, we'll have roughly eight seconds to ourselves a week. I say eight because when Chloe had the twins she and Bruce had about five seconds to themselves with three kids."

Lois nodded, laying down over Clark. "Have I told you how comfortable you are lately?"

"Not nearly enough."

"Your rock hard muscles are extremely comfortable, Smallville. Now get all these clothes off of 'em so I can enjoy them as they're meant to be enjoyed."

"Alright, Smallville. I've been patient. I haven't bugged you about the story. Now, we're here on the plane, sitting and strapped in. We've taken off and we're over the Atlantic. I've read my magazines and the newspaper. Will you now tell me the last story?"

Clark smiled at her. "I would have told it to you sooner, Lo. You could have gotten it out of me pretty easily, I bet. I was just kidding when I said that on the flight over."

Lois looked away from Clark, doing her best not to yell as she scowled. "This is one of those times where I wish I could whap you on the chest and you would actually feel it."

"Sorry to disappoint. Shall we finish this up?"

"Please do."

---

"_A whole week without throwing up, Smallville. Finally, pregnancy isn't bringing me to my knees."_

_Clark smiled as they walked out of the Planet, looking around as the fell into the foot traffic. Lois had suggested they walk a little while before she got a cab to the apartment and he went to pick up Jordan because of it being a nice evening. _

"_I'm happy about it too, Lo. I'm hoping that you actually get to enjoy your pregnancy like you did last time."_

"_I remember that. Up until about month seven or eight, it's not too bad. That second trimester of it is a nice breather between bouts of exhaustion and crazy things going on with my body. Well, more extreme crazy things. You remember all of it."_

"_I do," Clark said, wincing at the memories or Lois telling him what exactly she was going through to carry their child to term. She'd left nothing to the imagination. "You seem more relaxed in life now, though, so I'm hoping that translates to this pregnancy and your reactions."_

"_I hope so too." She leaned her head into his arm. "I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet."_

_Clark was surprised she was actually talking about it. She hadn't said three words about it since the day they'd found out she was pregnant. "I want to say maybe it won't, but I know better than that. I'm just happy that you're at peace with it, or at least as at peace with it as you can be."_

"_I don't really have much choice. I know that this time, I won't let myself adjust slowly. When I wake up without my memory, I'm still going to have a daughter. Even if I'm fighting the fact that she's mine, I will still do what's best for her."_

_Clark nodded, watching people as they walked. They were moving slowly, people passing them by as they hurried places. Whenever the two of them walked like this, Clark tried to take in as much as he could. There weren't many times that he got to take in the din of the city without being on his way to save somebody, if not in the middle of it. Most of the other times he was working on a story. This was nice._

"_Do you think you'll inherently know that Jordan is yours?"_

"_Are you kidding me? My brain will fight that idea as long as possible before finally succumbing to Jordan's daughterness. That's not a word, but you know what I'm saying." He looked down and found Lois smiling. "I don't know what will be stronger: my stubborn will fighting claims of having a daughter or Jordan being so lovable and herself. It's going to be a bloody fight in this head of mine."_

"_That's a little disturbing, Lo."_

"_Doesn't make it any less true. I think I can almost predict what will happen, even without having lived this particular experience: I'll meet her, I'll be all confused because I won't be able to place who she looks like if I haven't talked to you, or see the resemblance if I have. With her calling me mommy and you daddy, it'll wear at my walls against the truth. _

"_I'll do what I can to try and keep things normal for her, not knowing what that is. Playing into the fact that I'm her mom will strongly hurt my already weakening my defenses, but I won't notice because I'll be so focused on NOT screwing up a little girl, mine or not. I'll probably use a nickname for her instead of using her real name, because that's who I am." _

_She paused and stopped walking, pulling him to a halt_._ He looked down at her to find her looking at him. "Once I've accepted that she's my daughter, will you get me to start calling her baby girl again?"_

"_Of course. I'll do anything you want me to do so that everything stays as normal as it can for Jordan."_

_She smiled sadly and they started walking again. "Normal. God, my poor baby girl, stuck with a mother that's going to forget her. Until I was faced with the fact that it was going to happen again, I'd been able to push that fact to the back of my mind. Now... I don't know if you've noticed, but I sit up at night thinking about it."_

"_I have noticed you using me to fall asleep more often these days, not that I mind. You kind of got out of the habit recently."_

"_I don't know why I did that, it just sort of happened. The early pregnancy exhaustion makes it as easy to fall asleep with my head on a pillow as it does with my head on your chest. It's pretty much the only time that's ever true. Muscle memory is quite the thing." _

_He heard her laugh, which always made him smile, but he wasn't sure why she was doing so. "What's so funny, Lo?"_

"_I am going to be so confused when I figure out that sleeping on your chest is like taking a handful of sleeping pills. I can't imagine that I'll actually sleep in the same bed as you for the first week or two, but once it happens my head will end up on your chest and it will be the best nights sleep I'll remember. Once we go three rounds of Clarkie and Sailor in one night, it'll be the second best night of sleep I'll remember."_

"_Clarkie and Sailor sounds like a lot of fun."_

"_It really does, Clarkie. It's been a while, too, what with all the not sure if the food I recently ate was going to stay down. Maybe tonight..."_

_Clark reached down and took her hand in his. "If nobody calls for help tonight.. well, let's just say that you'll be sleeping very well."_

"_That's what I like to hear," Lois said in a low voice. _

_Clark hailed a cab for Lois and got her off before ducking into an alley and taking off for Smallville. He flew at a leisurely pace, enjoying the sight of the land below him. It was always calming flying to the farm, especially when all the land was green. He'd grown up with the vibrancy of its color around him, and he still loved it._

_He landed on the gravel driveway and walked up the steps, knocking once before walking into the house. "Child pickup service here. All children that need to be taken home for the night should catch a ride with me." Walking a little further into the house, he spotted Jordan enveloped in a hug with his mom._

_Smiling, Clark walked over closed to them. "Mom, am I going to be able to separate you two, or are you flying to Metropolis with us?"_

"_Can you come with us, Grandma?"_

_She smiled and passed Jordan in his arms, scratching Jordan on the back lightly as she did so. "I'm sorry, Jordan, but I've got some work to do out here this weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing you again on Monday, though. I love you."_

"_Love you too, Grandma."_

_Martha looked at Clark. "And I love you too, Clark. How was your day?"_

"_Pretty standard fare. Couple saves here and there."_

"_I know I always say it, but be careful, and be careful with my granddaughter while you fly home."_

"_I always am, mom, and I love you too. See you Monday morning."_

_A little while later Clark landed on the balcony, letting Jordan down and walking inside the apartment. He watched Jordan run over to Lois and give her a hug before taking off for her bedroom. "So, anything happen in the little while I was in Smallville?"_

"_Not a thing. What do you want to do for dinner?"_

"_What sounds good to you?"_

"_Something quick and easy. We have those microwave pizzas in freezer that we can do. You'll eat a couple, I'll eat a couple and Jordan will probably eat one."_

"_Those do qualify as quick and easy, yes. Want me to start one for you?"_

"_You change, I'll start. This is one of those few foods I can handle making."_

_Clark looked down at himself and found that he was still in his suit. In a blink he had himself changed and was looking at Lois again as he slipped his glasses on. She smiled and turned towards the kitchen. Instead of watching her actually make a meal, Clark walked back and ducked into Jordan's room, finding her playing on the floor._

"_Hey there, sweetheart. We're going to eat dinner in a minute. May I help you wash your hands?"_

"_Okay." She got up and ran past him into the bathroom, getting up on her stool so she could reach the sink handles. Clark followed and squirted some soap onto her hands with one hand and turned on the water with the other. After a minute of washing, Clark draped the towel over her hands and helped her dry them. "What are we eating, daddy?"_

"_Frozen pizza. And get this: your mom is cooking them. Crazy, huh?"_

_Jordan nodded and ran off towards the kitchen, Clark following close behind. When the kitchen got into view, Clark almost laughed as Jordan just stood there and watched Lois cooking pizzas. She had the look of somebody that was seeing something so foreign that it couldn't be understood. Lois smiled at her and handed her a plate with a cut up pizza on it. Jordan took it over to the table and Clark lifted Jordan up into her chair so she wouldn't spill her food climbing up._

_He walked over to Lois, watching her before he spoke. The sun actually shone through the window, illuminating her. She almost looked at home in the kitchen. "I think this is the first time I've ever seen you look... I guess the word is domestic, in the kitchen."_

"_Guess we should have had more frozen pizza over the years, Smallville." She handed him one before pulling him down by the collar and kissing off the socks he wasn't currently wearing. When he opened his eyes she had already turned back towards the microwave, her hips swaying to music that apparently only she heard. Good lord she was sexy. How had he not noticed her doing that until just now?_

_Dinner and the rest of the evening flew by, Clark going through the two pizzas Lois had thought he'd go through. He was barely able to keep his eyes off of her while she ate, while she sat with Jordan and while she put Jordan down for the night. She was so unfairly sexy that he couldn't tear his eyes away. She just moved and he was entranced. _

_She was coming out of Jordan's room and finally noticed him watching her. She smiled one of those little smiles she had, and crossed her arms over her chest. "What?"_

"_You."_

"_What about me?"_

"_You're the sexiest thing I've ever seen. I literally haven't been able to watch anything but you all night. I mean, when you were in the kitchen earlier, you were swaying your hips to music I couldn't hear and you just looked... I don't know if happy or peaceful is the better word for it. Maybe it's just content. With the sun on you, you were literally glowing, as they say women do during pregnancy."_

_She smiled, walking over and stopping right in front of him. "Did you get off seeing me in the kitchen making dinner?"_

"_What? No." He didn't think so, anyway. "You really were swaying your hips to the music in your head and looked as in the moment, appreciating everything you have as I've ever seen you."_

"_Really?"_

"_Really," he said. He leaned in and kissed her softly, and she leaned in and started kissing him back. He felt her wrap her arms around his neck and he hugged her closer to his body. They stumbled back through the apartment, lips rarely parting as they made their way into the bedroom. _

_Clothes were quickly shed and before he had time to process anything that was happening, Clark felt himself sliding into her and moaning. She leaned down and kissed him and he felt her hips start moving against his. Soon they were both breathing heavily and Clark moaned out her name loudly as he came, feeling Lois's muscles contract around him. _

_She flopped down on his chest, panting as she spoke. "I really must've had an effect on you."_

_He pulled her hair out of her eyes as he spoke. "Why do you say that?"_

"_Usually you go a lot longer than my first orgasm."_

_Clark chuckled as Lois shifter her position so that she was in her usual sleeping spot. He pulled the covers over them as he felt her kiss his chest. "You really did, Lo, and you have no idea how hard it is to ride through you calling out my name and orgasming without falling over the edge myself."_

"_No, I do not. Fortunately, you always last longer than I do." She snuggled into him and he heard her sigh. "I love you, Smallville."_

"_Love you too, Lo."_

---

Lois looked away from the window an over at Clark. "I woke up in flannel."

"I had to make a save during the night and put you in the flannel to make sure you wouldn't get cold. You have a tendency to get chilly, even under the blankets at times."

Well, that was true. "And the next morning, you leave to get groceries for lunch and I wake up without my memory." He nodded, and she looked back out the window. "I can't believe I'm finally up to date on all the big happenings in my life."

"It was a long process, wasn't it?"

She nodded, and smiled at him. "Thank you for loving me enough to do something like that."

"I wouldn't be good enough for you if I didn't."

She leaned her head in and rested it on Clark's shoulder, staring at the seat in front of her but not seeing it. "I've been so focused on learning my past and now I know it. Now all I have is what's in front of me. What happens now?"


	63. Chapter 63

---- Chapter 63

"Happy birthday, little Andy!"

Lois smiled as Andy reached for her, and she took her baby from Clark's arms to settle in her own. Smiling down, she tickled Andy on the bottom of the foot with her finger. "I don't know how much longer I'm going to be able to call you my little Andy. You're getting so big that mama is going to have to think of something else to say!"

"Mama!"

"I couldn't agree more," Lois said as she grinned and rocked her a little. She looked up at Clark, the smile sticking on her face. "Was she awake when you went in there?"

"Yup. Did a super speed diaper change, which was why our one year old is all smiley. Plus, AJ always seems to light up when she's with you. You have that whole mom thing going for you with our kids."

Lois raised an eyebrow at him before walking into the kitchen and pulling some baby food out of the fridge. "The whole mom thing? I don't see how it's that different from the whole dad thing, because Andy lights up when she sees you, too."

"Around here, mom is the comforting one, moving more quickly than her super powered husband. Anything our younger girl needs, mom is there to do it, much as it was with our older daughter. And most of all, she doesn't reach for me when she's in your arms, but as you noticed, the opposite is true. By the way, you're still an amazing mom and if somebody else was holding me, I would reach for you."

"That's a little creepy sounding, but I know what you mean and thank you, Smallville. I haven't done anything that any mom worth her salt wouldn't do for her children. It's all stuff that I am proud to be able to do for her, too."

Lois walked over to the table and got Andrea Jane settled in her high chair before opening up the baby food and spooning a little out, holding it out for Andy as she opened her mouth and happily ate it as she babbled at Lois, the only word that made sense being mama again. Grabbing a napkin, Lois babbled a bit right back as she wiped food off of her chin. Lois got a another bite into Andy before she looked back at Clark.

"What time is Martha driving in?"

"She should be here around noon and join us at the park. She said she might help set up the party, though I doubt she'll temper Chloe's overzealousness with the decorations." She gave Andy another spoonful and looked back to Clark as he walked over, shaking his head. "It's been a year and I still can't believe that you and Chloe gave birth on the same day."

"Seems pretty fitting to me, Smallville. And hey, I won the race."

"Fifteen minutes, Lo. You won by fifteen minutes."

She winked at Andy and gave her another spoonful of food. "A win is a win, Smallville, even if one is shocked while it was happening and that she actually won."

---

_Grumbling, Lois opened her eyes and rubbed at her back. It would not stop hurting, no matter what she did. It was a constant reminder that she'd actually gone past her due date and was quickly headed towards what felt like a never ending pregnancy. Granted, Chloe had also gone past her due date, but she was currently in the hospital giving birth. Jackass._

_Taking a moment to sit up, Lois sighed as she felt the need to pee for the third time since she'd gone to bed an hour ago and somewhere in the low teens for the day Clark had been there with her when she'd first tried sleeping, but he was currently out making a save somewhere in Indonesia with the Justice League. _

_When she and Chloe had both hit 38 weeks, Martha had driven come up to stay with them so that if one or the other went into labor, or if labors happened to overlap, they didn't have to move the kids from house to house. When Bruce had called to say they were headed to the hospital, Martha had gone to stay there with the kids for the night. She'd taken Jordan along to give the two of them one last stress free evening before AJ was born. _

_Lois had found the fact that she was still pregnant and Chloe was well on her way to not being pregnant a poor excuse for a stress free night._

_Pushing herself off the bed with way more effort than she liked, she walked to the bathroom and emptied her bladder, shocked that there was any liquid left in her body to be stored there. Even with all the water she'd taken to drinking lately, something like eight or nine glasses a day, that seemed like it should be out of her system the first fifteen times she'd gone to the bathroom. _

_God, she hated being the cliché pregnant woman that had to go to the bathroom like crazy, but how the hell was she supposed to escape it? It's not like she could drink less; that wouldn't be good for AJ, who seemed exceedingly comfortable sitting low in her pelvis. The low in the pelvis thing was supposed to have been a good sign that birth would be soon, but he'd been kicking up a storm from that spot for two dang weeks!_

_Lois climbed back into bed and frowned as she felt a Braxton-Hick run across her stomach. While Chloe had complained for the past month or so that her supposedly painless Braxton-Hicks were in fact painful, Lois had yet to experience anything except tightening across her bump that was quite painless and rarely lasted long._

_Rolling onto her left side, Lois pushed her face into her pillow and attempted to will herself into eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. She knew, of course, that such a thing wouldn't happen, if for no other reason than Bruce was going to call and tell her if it was a boy or girl. Well, he was going to call and say a name, and she figured hearing Bobby or Rhianna would tip her off._

_It had taken a while, but she and Clark had finally picked out a name for AJ: Andrew Jerome. Trying to stick to the letters A and J had made things limited, and while the J part had been easy, it had taken some time to agree on Andrew. She'd originally wanted to name him Adrian, but Andrew had grown on her after Clark had suggested it and they'd finally agreed. Now if only the boy would show himself so they could properly name him!_

_Groaning, Lois tossed the covers off of herself and listened to the rain drum against the windows. Chloe was probably screaming and grunting and it just wasn't fair! Why did she have to be the one still pregnant? Why couldn't she be in pain and getting to the part of her life where she got to hold her baby in her arms instead of her stomach?_

_Groaning once more, Lois sat up again and swung her legs off the side of the bed, getting up again and walking slowly out of her room and down the stairs into the kitchen. Rubbing at her back as she walked, Lois got to the fridge and opened it up, grabbing a bottle of water. She downed half of it and sighed, realizing that she was going to be peeing again sometime during the night. Well, that would happen anyway, but she was just adding fuel to the fire._

_Lois walked out of the kitchen and back to the stairs. She stopped and eyed them, raising an eyebrow in their direction before looking over at the living room and seeing the comfy couch that did not require her to end up huffing and puffing like she'd run a few miles. With one more glance at the stairs, she walked away from them and plopped herself down on the couch, feeling herself sink in a little. It wasn't going to be a restful night anyway, so she may as well just wait for the call about whether Chloe had a boy or girl._

_Grabbing the remote, Lois turned on the television and flipped to TV Land, where they were playing twenty five straight hours of Buffy The Vampire Slayer in honor of it being the twenty fifth anniversary of the show being on the air. Once a week they were doing it until they ran out of episodes, and fortunately tonight was one of those nights. _

_The show didn't keep her distracted well enough. She watched it, smiling as she remembered the songs from 'Once More With Feeling,' which was just starting. Once upon a time she could sing along with the show, but her eyes kept wandering to the clock on the wall, her focus elsewhere. If she didn't know any better, she'd say that somebody had lengthened just how long an hour lasted. _

_Lois yawned, scrubbing at an eye as she did so. Without thinking about it, she scratched at the stretch marks on her stomach and stretched out, yawning again as she did so. She looked down at her stomach, sighing and smiling at the same time. _

"_I'm sorry that I've been so irritable, AJ. Your mom has never handled discomfort well, no matter how happy she would be once it was over, and I doubt that will ever change. I, along with everybody else I know, just wants to see you and get to meet you. I don't think that's a lot to ask, do you? So, ya know, if you could do your mom a favor and make your entrance right about now, that'd be... holy sh!t."_

_He'd dropped. That was the only word she could put to it. Good lord, he'd dropped and..._

_Lois closed her eyes and moaned loudly as a contraction hit her. Oh God did that hurt. She tried to remember that breathing stuff she'd seen and learned, but that was quickly forgotten as the urge to push hit her with another contraction a moment later. She gritted her teeth and felt herself bear down; fighting it probably wouldn't do her any good at this point. _

_Jesus, why did AJ have to choose now to start listening to her? It let up after what seemed like a lot longer than it had been unless the songs in Buffy had gotten longer with time._

_Catching her breath, she tried to think. Underwear. Underwear was still on. Shifting herself, she got it pulled off and tossed it away onto the floor. She looked around the room, eyes not staying on anything for more than a second while she waited for the next contraction. And there it was. Gritting her teeth again, she bore down as the urge to push overwhelmed her, and she felt AJ moving down through the birth canal._

_When it let up again, Lois breathed and did her best to keep herself calm. She would not panic while giving birth. It was not an option. She thought about calling for Clark, but he probably wouldn't be able to come anyway. Whatever was going on in Indonesia probably had a lot more lives on the line, so there was no use worrying him._

_Another contraction hit and once more Lois pushed with the urge, and as it went on she felt what could only be crowning. She forced herself to breathe instead of push, remembering the story of Jordan's birth and how Clark had made her do this so she wouldn't tear then, either. She bit back a scream as AJ's head delivered into a supporting hand. _

_Waiting a moment, she felt AJ turn and another contraction came and she pushed hard with it, screaming as the shoulders delivered. Breathing, the rest of him slipped out of her and into her hands and she pulled him up to her chest, feeling tears begin to sting her eyes._

_As soon as she noticed the tears, AJ started crying and Lois jumped into action. She pulled the blanket off the back of the couch and started to get AJ wrapped up in it when she noticed that there was a lack of penis where she'd expected there to be one. Shaking her head, she got AJ wrapped up and shook her head at herself. _

"_I am so sorry I've been calling you my little boy, little girl. I'd have sworn... well, just goes to show your mom is crazy to have thought she was having a vision. But I promise, from now on you are my little girl."_

_Oh God, she'd just given birth! Looking up at the clock, she saw that it was 1:12 am and kept that in her mind so she could tell paramedics she'd delivered at 1:11 since it had been a minute. That hadn't even taken ten minutes from start to finish! She knew that second births were supposed to be shorter than first ones, but if that had actually been shorter than Jordan's birth, that would be insane! _

_Birth! She looked down at her crying baby, feeling the tears let loose onto her cheeks as she used the spare blanket to wipe some of the stuff off of her. She got AJ cleaned off and smiled as she noticed her color was good and pink. And good lord, she had a set of lungs like a freight train! _

_She'd given birth on the couch! She looked down at the couch and cringed; they were going to need a new couch. _

_Trying to get her bearings, Lois took a couple deep breaths, knowing she had to be calm for the moment. She got herself calm and looked down at AJ, whose crying was slowing down a bit. Not sure what she needed, Lois unbuttoned her shirt and messed with her bra until she had one side off. Why couldn't she be wearing a nursing bra? _

_Putting that to the back of her mind, Lois positioned AJ... damn, they were going to have to find a new name, and she needed a new nickname because AJ was associated with 'boy' in her mind now... at her breast and she took the nipple like an old pro. Lois was tempted to do a fist pump or some other form of minor celebration and Jordan started nursing. _

_Looking down at her nursing daughter, Lois for the first time really looked at her. Until now, she'd been so preoccupied with getting everything settled and making sure her daughter was covered, warm and happy, she hadn't really taken a second to look at her. _

_She was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen._

_Her head was already covered with hair, as dark as Clark's. As far as she could tell, those were her nose and lips, though. Lois couldn't tell if she was big or not, but she'd certainly seemed very, very big during the whole coming out part. _

_God, this was the baby she'd been waiting so long to hold. The tears started leaking again, but she really didn't care. Her daughter was here. It was the middle of the night, she'd given birth all alone and was totally doing things by instinct or some such, but she was holding her daughter!_

_She couldn't wipe the goofy grin off her face. She just watched as AJ nursed for a little while, getting her fill and letting go of the nipple. Lois got herself adjusted and tried to think of what..._

_Ow! Why the hell was she contracting again? AJ was already here and crap, she still had to deliver the placenta. She hadn't even thought about the umbilical cord except to make sure it wasn't broken or torn while she was getting Jordan wrapped in the blanket. Looking down, she noted that the umbilical cord was still sticking out of her. And great, there was more blood coming out of her, too. _

_She winced when another contraction hit and felt the need to push again. Going with it, she pushed. When it let up, she checked on AJ and she appeared content, doing her best impression of calm and sleepy. It seemed unlikely to last. She winced and pushed again, this time getting a squishy feeling as the placenta started to slide out of her. With another push, she caught it with her free hand and found herself sitting on the couch, without pants or shirt and a baby held close to her body with her right arm, not to mention the placenta in her left hand. _

_Taking a deep breath, Lois stood up slowly, wincing at the extreme soreness she felt, and walked slowly into the kitchen. She shuffled over towards the counter, and without anything else to do, she dropped the placenta in the left side of the sink. Reaching over, she opened the silverware drawer and pulled out the sharpest knife she could find. _

_She paused, putting the knife back down and pulled open another drawer full of rubber bands and twist ties. She pulled out a handful and set them down on the counter, grabbing a twist tie and getting it wrapped around the cord. She got it as tight as she could and did the same with a second one a few inches below it. She reached over and grabbed the knife again, taking a deep breath before sawing through the cord. It split and Lois quickly grabbed the long end and tossed it into the sink with the placenta. She tucked the short end in the blanket with AJ. _

_Lois closed her eyes and took a deep breath, rocking AJ a little as she did so. Well, that wasn't so bad, she figured. At least she hadn't had to go through hours and hours of pain, and hey, she could still come up with a plan when she needed one. She felt a little like MacGuyver with the improvisation, but it worked. She smiled down at her sleeping daughter. "Stick by me, kid," she whispered, "and I'll show you how to survive this world. It won't always be pretty, but it'll work."_

_She smiled down at her for a few minutes, just standing there, when the phone rang. She walked over and picked it up. "Hello?"_

"_Hey, Lois, it's Bruce."_

"_It's a girl."_

"_No, actually, it's a boy."_

_Lois smiled to herself. "Congratulations, Bruce. I said it's a girl, though, because I gave birth about..." She looked at the clock on the fridge. "Thirty minutes ago."_

"_What? Is Clark there?"_

"_No, the League called him for help in Indonesia. I'm actually standing in the kitchen, mostly naked and holding my daughter, who is wrapped up in the blanket we keep on our couch. As such, I was hoping you could put me through to a nurse or somebody that can send an ambulance to bring us in and check us out."_

"_Of course. Just give me..."_

"_Wait!" Lois winced and looked down at AJ, who was still sleeping. She took a calming breath before speaking again. "Bruce?"_

"_Still here, Lois."_

"_Alright. The reason I haven't called for Clark is because things have been happening a hundred miles per hour and I didn't want to upset AJ. So after you hand the phone off, if you could get in contact with him, I'd appreciate it."_

"_He'll be there before the EMS." There was a pause and she heard him speak again. "Chloe will take me to task if I don't ask you this: along with is she healthy, what time did you have AJ?"_

"_She seems to be very healthy, Bruce. I had her at 1:11. When did Chloe have Bobby?"_

"_1:26. She'll be disappointed, but I have a feeling it won't last. He's also very healthy."_

_Lois laughed softly, checking to make sure AJ was still feeling peaceful and happy. "I'm glad. Tell her I love her." _

"_I will. Here's a nurse for you, Lois." _

_She waited a moment before another voice came on the line. "Mrs. Kent?"_

"_Yes, that's me."_

"_Mr. Wayne said you just had an unplanned home birth. How's the baby doing?"_

"_She's breathing, though sleeping at the moment. She already nursed, and I cut the cord with a clean knife. I have no idea if the placenta is whole, which is why I asked Bruce to connect me to you and have an ambulance sent." Man, she'd have sworn when she read that book the all the information in it was not sticking in her brain._

"_They should be there soon, Mrs. Kent. You sound remarkably calm for what's just happened."_

"_Panic would do absolutely no good. I have to tell myself that every two minutes, but it seems to be working." All of a sudden there was a whoosh, and Lois turned to find a wide eyed Clark in his Superman garb staring at her. "Look, my husband just got here, so I'm going to hang up. Thank you for the help."_

_Lois turned off the phone and placed it on the counter. She smiled at Clark, then looked down at AJ again._

_He spoke quietly. "What happened?"_

"_You left, I couldn't sleep, came downstairs for a drink, sat down on couch, gave birth in under ten minutes to a baby girl, ended up almost entirely naked so that AJ could nurse, delivered the placenta, came in here and dropped it in the sink, got the cord cut and talked to Bruce. And now I'm talking to you."_

_He looked down at the floor, his eyes still as wide as saucers. "But... but... good lord..." He looked back up at her. "A girl?" She grinned as he scrubbed a hand through his hair and disappeared a second before reappearing jeans and a t-shirt, holding a much more baby sized blanket. "May I?"_

"_She is your daughter, Smallville." Lois handed AJ over to Clark, and in a blink the big blanket had been discarded and AJ was swaddled tightly in a blue blanket. "We're going to have to buy some pink," she said._

"_Hey, you were the one that was so sure, Lo... God, we have another daughter... why didn't you call for me?"_

_Lois noticed that he wasn't looking at her, and knew how he felt. She reached over and grabbed the discarded blanket, wiping some blood off her legs and wrapping it around her waist. Better than nothing, though she was still standing there in her bra and a never-to-be-used-again blanket. She heard the sirens of the ambulance coming up the street. There wasn't much use in putting on pants, but she walked out into the living room and grabbed her underwear, slipping them on none too snugly under the blanket. Not the best fit anymore, but they did the trick._

_She walked back into the kitchen, holding up the blanket, and found Clark still smiling down at AJ. "What do you want to name her?"_

"_What?"_

_Lois pointed at AJ. "We have to come up with another name since naming her Andrew seems like it would be kind of mean. It occurs to me that Andy would be a good nickname for her because of all of it, though."_

"_Actually, I thought of a good girl's AJ when you first started using the initials: Andrea Jane."_

_Lois smiled when she heard the name, looking at her new little girl, her little Andy. "Andrea Jane... wow, I like it, Smallville." She heard a knock at the front door and hitched the blanket up a little. "Sounds like the medical folk are here. Feel like introducing Andrea to the world_?"

_He grinned at her and turned, walking towards the door. She followed him, speaking as she walked gingerly. "I won."_

_He unlocked the door and opened it, looking back at her as the EMS personnel entered. "What?"_

"_I beat Chloe by fifteen minutes, but more than that, I have a healthy daughter."_

_Clark shook his head and rolled his eyes. "Only you could think of that after such a crazy night." _

_He handed AJ back to her and she sat down on the stretcher, as instructed. She had won: she had her little girl in her arms._

---

"Lo? Hey, Lois, you awake?"

Blinking a couple times, Lois's vision focused again and she looked at Clark. "What?"

"I asked you if AJ was done eating but you had zoned out."

She smiled at him before offering another spoonful to Andy and having it refused. She closed up the food and handed it to Clark to put into the fridge. "I was thinking about Andy's birth."

"Ah, gotcha." Clark walked over and pulled Andy up out of her high chair and started using a wet napkin to gently wipe off her face. "You did the same thing like four times on Jordan's first birthday."

"Oh, good, only three more times to go." She motioned her head at Andy. "Will you get her cleaned up while I check on Jordan and shower?"

"Happy to. You're just so cute and now a whole year old, aren't ya AJ?"

Lois ran a hand through her hair as she walked back through the house and headed upstairs. She walked over to Jordan's room and knocked a couple times. "Jordan?" She opened the door and ducked her head in, finding Jordan still asleep. Smiling, she walked over to the bed and sat down gently, rubbing circles over her back. Jordan stirred and stretched as she looked up.

"Hi, mommy."

"Morning, baby girl. How'd you sleep?"

"Good."

Lois pulled Jordan up into a sitting position on her lap and smiled a little wider as Jordan yawned. It was still ridiculously adorable. Ever since Andy had been born, Lois had become much more used to mornings and actually kind of liked them. It also meant that she was usually awake before Jordan now, instead of Clark getting up before her to get her up.

"Alright, time to get up and get the day going. Why don't you head downstairs and join daddy and Andy for some breakfast, ok?"

"Ok."

Jordan climbed down and walked off, leaving Lois to head to the shower. Half an hour later, Lois was showered and getting dressed, pulling on some shorts. It was a Friday, but they'd taken the day off, same as they had when Jordan turned one, according to Clark. Chloe had done the same, and with Bruce in town they were all going to spend the day together until the 'official' party later in the day for Andy and Bobby.

Pulling on a shirt, Lois ran a hand through her quickly dying hair and after brushing it a few times, headed downstairs to get some breakfast of her own. She was met with some great smells and scooped up some of the eggs and sausage that Clark had left on the stove for her. Testing it, she found that it was still hot and in no need of the microwave. She grabbed a fork and started eating, walking into the living room, where she found Clark, Jordan and Andy.

Andy was walking from Jordan to Clark, and she smiled around her mouth full of food as she heard a 'dada' uttered during the walking. Lois walked over and stood behind the couch, observing this family thing that she had going on now.

It was awesome. Jordan was too young to be rebellious, Andy was really starting to walk up a storm and speak clearly and Clark was still an amazing father.

Having a second child hadn't actually been as difficult as Lois had prepared herself for. Well, that wasn't entirely true. It was a lot of work, but in an odd way, she felt like the sleepless nights for the last month of her pregnancy had almost been a prep course for Andy, who for the first few months of life outside the womb had thoroughly enjoyed being awake all night.

After the way Andy had been born, nothing that had come along had rally phased Lois. It was another strange thing in her life: the most unbelievable circumstances in her life had made her feel like she could deal with everything else that came her way in terms of her daughter.

After the birth, Lois had been so focused on Andy that she barely remembered anything else for the month of May. It had been all baby, all the time, and it hadn't helped that Chloe had been almost as engrossed in Bobby. Together, they'd lost almost complete track of what was going on in the world outside of their two houses. When they'd finally surfaced, it was like waking up from a haze, at least for her.

She'd started a workout regime to slowly but surely lose the pregnancy weight, and it had seemed to melt off at first. Once she got past the first fifteen pounds, though, it took the rest of the summer to get back to the pre-pregnancy weight she could remember. Clark hadn't known what she'd been before Andy was conceived, so she'd just had to go back to 2008 weight. When she'd gotten down to weight, she found that she was a little more curvy than she had been, but she was happy with it. Nothing wrong with curves.

The rest of the year had flown by; Lois had been so wrapped up watching Andy grow and still being the best damn reporter she could be that time seemed to pass more quickly than she could imagine. Chloe didn't seem to have been affected like she had, and had written it off as Lois not being able to remember what it was like when Jordan was born. Andy may as well have been her first born when it came to everything being new, Chloe said, and Lois agreed.

And now her younger daughter was one year old.

She finished off her plate of food and took it back into the kitchen, rinsing off her plate and fork and sticking them in the dishwasher. She walked back out to the living room and plopped down on the couch, watching as Andy turned mid step and started walking towards her. Maybe Clark was right about that whole mom thing...

Smiling, she held out her arms and let Andy walk between them. She picked her up and pulled her close, placing a few light kisses on her forehead.

"Mama!"

"You got that right, my little Andy." Lois looked over at Jordan. "Baby girl, why don't you go get dressed so that we can be ready to go out when the Wayne's call, alright?"

"Will you come with me, mommy?"

"How about your old man goes with you, Jordan? I may not be mommy, but I can have you dressed so quickly that you won't know what hit you."

"I like fast!" Jordan took Clark by the hand as he stood up and led him to the stairs. Lois smiled and looked back at Andy.

"You like fast too, don't you? You're going to be a lot like your big sister and your mom, it seems like, and I think the world is going to have to watch out because of it. Your poor dad, though... you act like me and look like me, too. He's probably wondering if I did whatever crazy thing it was that Chloe did to have your cousin Jack, who's basically a clone of her that's male. So far you're a clone of your mom, and didn't even have to be a dude."

"Dada."

"Yeah, that's pretty close to dude. Now, how about a mama for your mama?"

"Mama!"

Lois smiled and kissed Andy on the cheek, eliciting another one of those awesomely cute laughs she loved so much. "Exactly, little Andy. Exactly."

"Wow," Lois said as they all walked down into the Wayne's house. "You guys still go all out on the decorating every time. You do remember the birthday kids have very little idea as to what is going on, right?"

"What can I say cuz, I like streamers."

Lois smiled at Chloe and let go of Jordan's hand, letting her run off to join Aly and Liz. Chloe was holding Bobby, a happy little boy that looked a lot like his father. "Bruce picking up Jack from school?"

Chloe nodded. "Why else do you think I get to hold my son? I swear, once Bobby hit six months I think it really hit Bruce that this was our last baby. I'm not complaining that the man loves his son like crazy, but he's just been holding Bobby like, well, like he won't get to do it again. He's actually taken to monopolizing time with him when I don't pay attention. I have to fight to hold my son!"

"I have noticed that, yes. Like you said, though, better than him being disinterested."

Lois followed Chloe to the snack table and grabbed a couple chips, popping them into her mouth. They'd taken all the kids to the park and spent most of the day there, walking around and having a great time. Martha had joined them earlier in the day, and was currently holding Andy and talking to Clark. Jack had missed out on most of the day because it was near the end of the school year and he needed to be there, but they were going to start the party once he got home from school.

Lois grabbed some more chips, chewing and swallowing as she watched Chloe bounce Bobby a little as he fussed. She eyed the big cake that Martha had made from a moment before grabbing some more chips. She'd been saving room for that cake, eating a small lunch so she would have plenty of room for cake made by Martha Kent, not to mention depriving herself of cake for months.. The only thing she made better than cake was pie, and a couple of those were sitting at their house right now, but they were not for today.

"Lois?"

Turning her head, she looked at Chloe. "What?"

"You were looking at the cake like it was threatening to get up and run away. Seriously, if you were an animal, you would have been a cat eyeing a mouse. Clichéd, but true."

"I ate a tiny lunch waiting for that cake, Chlo," Lois said as she glanced at it for a second, then looked back to Chloe. "Do you know how long it's been since I had a Martha Kent made cake? Really, I haven't had any cake in like, six months, but it's been even longer since I've had a cake Martha made. I love my daughter, but I'm glad she doesn't eat cake yet because it means more for me."

"You have a lot invested in a cake."

"I've deprived myself. This day is all about our respective small children, but that cake will be the culmination of my eating today. For just a little while, my focus will be on how amazing that cake is, and then I will be right back on Andy."

"Alright then, it's a good thing I heard a car door."

Lois turned towards the front door, and sure enough, Bruce and Jack were coming into the house. She spotted a big candle in the shape of a one in Bruce's hand, and she grinned. "Ok folks, let's do some cake lighting!"

Clark walked over to her, eyebrow raised. "We don't need to do cake right away, Lo."

"Oh c'mon! I... we've been waiting all day for Jack to get here so we could do cake. Now that he's here, I think the consensus is that cake would be a great idea." She turned and faced the three little girls, who'd all walked over. "What do you guys say? Cake time?"

"Yeah!" Wow, that had been surprisingly in sync for three little girls. Could almost be triplets, really, with all the time they spent together and despite Jordan being nine months younger.

Lois shook off her thoughts and smiled at Clark. "Shall we cake?"

"I guess we shall."

A few minutes later the candle had been lit, Andy and Bobby had blown all over the cake without getting near the candle, and it had been sliced up and doled out. Standing with Clark and Martha, who was skipping cake to hold Andy some more, Lois took a second to take in her slice before taking the first bite. Her eyes slid closed and she moaned in ecstasy as she swallowed. It was like perfection in cake form.

When her eyes opened again, she found that Clark and Martha were staring at her. Even Andy seemed to have been mesmerized by what she'd done. She swallowed and smiled. "What?"

"Well... I mean..." Clark cleared his throat a second before continuing. "The last time you made sounds like that with food was when you were pregnant."

"It's really good!" Lois smiled at Martha, who smiled back at her and looked and Andy again, who'd taken to playing with a loose string on her shirt. She turned back to Clark as he spoke.

"No, yeah, it is, but still... I mean, you aren't..."

Lois frowned and took a bite as he trailed off, not getting his meaning for a second. She wasn't... what? Pregnant? Did he think she was pregnant because she really liked the cake? "What? No, Smallville, not pregnant, just me enjoying my cake. Well, _only_ me enjoying my cake when it comes to my body. The reason I'm all moany with it," she said around a bite, "is because I've been depriving myself of cake waiting for this."

She watched Clark eye her for a moment before he spoke. "What?"

"It wasn't intentional, really, but it's been six months since I last had cake. It's been even longer since I had a cake made by your mother."

"Didn't you have some when we were there a month ago?"

Lois frowned, thinking back to when they'd gone to the farm for the weekend. Had there been cake? Jesus, there had been. She looked at him again. "How did I forget that? How did I become so obsessed with cake? I've been thinking about it all day like a starving man thinks about food."

"We all have our cake related moments, Lo. Some of us more than others, but it happens."

Martha smiled at her. "Clark had one when he was ten and really wanted me to make a chocolate cake. I told him that we could make one over the weekend, and all he did all week was think about chocolate cake. When we made it and he finally got some, he was so happy that he'd eaten half the cake before Jonathan and I knew what had happened."

"I don't remember that, mom."

"I know, sweetheart," Martha said. Lois handed Clark her now empty plate and took Andy from Martha as she started reaching for her. She smiled at her and bounced a little as Martha spoke again. "You'll remember the same things about Jordan and Andrea."

Lois looked up at Clark, eyebrow raised. "You better, Smallville. They need to know what they were like as kids from one of us."

"Well, I guess if I have to, I can remember what our kids do and when."

Lois looked down at Andy again and found that she was holding a sleepy one year old. She walked slowly over to Chloe, swaying a little as she did so and watched Andy's eyes droop a little more as she stopped next to the blonde. "How's Bobby doing?"

"Droopy. Andy?"

"Same. You want me to take them both up for a nap?"

"That's alright, I'll come with you." They walked upstairs, Lois in the lead as she headed into Bobby's room and laid Andy down in his crib. Chloe laid Bobby down at the other end and after a minute or two, each was sleeping. Chloe grabbed the baby monitor as they walked out of the room. "The park must have worn them out."

"Yeah, Andy usually cries unless I hold her until she falls asleep, though fortunately that's becoming less and less prevalent. It also seems to help her fall asleep, and if that doesn't work I always have Clark to get her to sleep with the tried and true method of zooming her around the house." She paused a second. "That doesn't seem like it would be relaxing so much as exciting."

"It's always exciting when he has to zoom for you."

"Here's hoping that Andy never gets in that much trouble."

"It's too bad daddy couldn't make it for Andy's birthday," Lois said as she walked into their bedroom. Clark was laying on the bed, hands behind his head with his eyes closed.

"I know. He'll be here when he can, though, and it's good that he stayed in France after the funeral to help Lucy with the boys. I wish we could have stayed longer than we did."

"Yeah, I do too."

Lois ran a hand through her hair, sighing sadly as she thought about how despondent Lucy had been leading up to and following Paul's funeral. It had been such a shock, getting the call from her sister that her husband had been killed in a car crash on his way to work one morning. Bruce had taken them all over for the funeral in the jet, but she hadn't been able to take care of Lucy as much as she'd wanted to.

"Do you think she'll take us up on our offer to stay with us for a while if she does decide to leave Paris?"

"I don't know, Smallville, but I think she'll stay in Paris, at least for a while. She kept saying that she wanted to try and keep things as normal as possible for Tommy and Jay, so I doubt she'll uproot them from the only home they've known to move back to the US. Maybe in a year or two, but right now, I doubt it."

Lois pulled on a tank top to sleep in and walked over to the bed, sliding on top of the sheets until her head was resting on Clark's chest. It was still the easiest way for her to fall asleep quickly. "If something happens to me, Smallville, make sure the girls know I love them."

"Lois, nothing is going to happen."

"We don't know that, Smallville, and unfortunately what happened to Paul is proof of that. Just promise me that if something happens to me, Jordan and Andy will know that nothing in the world was as close to my heart as they are, alright?"

She heard him sigh and let her eyes close as he turned off the light. "Alright, Lo, but only if you do the same for me. I love you."

"Love you too, Smallville."

Lois hitched Andy up a little as she walked down the stairs, blowing hair out of her face as she saw Jordan run along past her. "Slow down, baby girl."

"But I was barely running!"

"You looked like you were really moving to me. Fast or not, you need to slow down and be more careful on the stairs, and not just these, but all of them, everywhere."

Jordan huffed and took the rest of the stairs slowly before walking away. Was it odd for a four year old to huff? Shaking her head, she walked into the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water and handed a sippy cup of milk to Andy. She started drinking happily and Lois took a sip of her water, walking back out into the living room.

She covered her mouth as best she could as she yawned, the early morning starting to catch up to her. Jordan had had a bad dream, waking her up at four in the morning. Thus, Lois had been awakened so she could provide comfort for an upset child since Clark had been out helping somebody. She probably would have been awakened anyway, but he liked to help at nights when he could since being up at those hours was nothing new. Jordan had fallen back asleep, she had not, and she was feeling it.

She covered her mouth again as she yawned, starting to get annoyed by it. Lois didn't mind yawning, but when it happened over and over again she could really live without it. She sat down on the couch and spotted Clark as he walked in, Jordan running ahead of him. "You look tired, Lo."

"Early morning is catching up to me, but I should be alright." To prove her point, she yawned again. Lois rolled her eyes at herself while looking at Clark. "I just need a little while."

"Why don't you let me take the girls out for a while. We'll go get some lunch and you can nap."

Lois smiled at him, letting her fingers trail over Andy's back slowly. "That would be great, Clark. An hour or two of sleep would be exactly what I need."

"Then it's settled." He disappeared for a second before reappearing with a rustle of wind, his arms holding Andy's bags and whatnot. He leaned over and pulled Andy up into his arms, making sure she didn't drop her sippy cup. "Jordan, will you grab your shoes? We'll get them on in the car."

She did so, and a moment later Lois had the house all to herself. Sighing, she laid back on the couch and let her eyes close.

Lois blinked, finding herself looking down at an empty plate. She looked up and saw Chloe sitting across a table from her with much different hair than she was used to seeing every day.

Oh God, not another one of these dreams. Ever since that first one she'd had while pregnant with Andy, they'd become more and more frequent, and were usually just as violent. At least this time she'd finally dreamed herself into a situation she remembered almost word for word. She decided that going along with it was the answer, for now.

"Hey, are you finished with that?"

"Yup. Go ahead and take the rest of it."

Lois reached over and grabbed the remainder of Chloe's fettuccine alfredo and pulled it in front of her, discarding the few crumbs of her veal parmigiana. "Thank god for having a regular salary. I love being able to go out for dinner without feeling like I'm putting a strain on the bank account."

"Cuz, the way you eat, I don't know that you'll ever save up enough for retirement. Seriously, if you ever eat without me you're going to have to order two dinners just to fill up. I sometimes question whether or not you're six months pregnant with as much food as you put down."

Chloe would be shocked at just how much food she actually did put down when she was six months pregnant. She'd be shocked at how much both of them put down when they were six months pregnant. This was a very odd experience, even more so than usual, knowing everything that she did.

Lois swallowed the bite she had been chewing and smirked. "Don't worry, Chlo; since I always seem to be eating with you, Clark or the both of you at once, there's always somebody to mooch off of, though Smallville does tend to inhale his food." Lois paused a second to think of what she said next. "You know what, I think a visit to Mrs. Kent is in order for some home cooking next weekend."

God, what if that had really happened? Would she have any semblance of the life she had now? She would have her memory, but would she have her children? Her happiness? She thought back to the diary entry that had wondered the same thing as she chewed the food.

"That sounds great, Lois. Dad's been wanting to see me for a few weeks anyway. And who in the world can turn down a home cooked meal at the Kent farm?"

"Exactly. I'll call her and let her know we're coming when we get home." She took another bite and looked around at the little bistro they were in contemplatively. "Strange as it seems, I miss Smallville. Not the crazies that tried to kill us on a weekly basis, mind you, but just the feel of the town. Living in Metropolis... this will always be the place I refer to as home, but Smallville will be the place I always think of as the place I grew up... did I explain that well?"

Chloe smiled, taking a sip of her water. "I know what you mean. I moved there and thought nothing could be worse than going from the big city to tiny Dullsville. But it grows on you; it worms its way into your heart and pretty quickly has you thinking about going back. Of course, it helps to have family there."

Lois nodded. "Family is always good, be they blood or a small family on a farm that offered to put you up for a few nights and ended up giving you a home."

She eyed Chloe discretely for a second, noting how young she looked. That was the one thing that never failed to surprise her in these dreams. It was like time traveling, or what she imagined time traveling would be like if she could have gone into a bunch of hypothetical situations until this one. Now, it was like reliving a memory in extreme vividness.

After paying the bill, they walked out into the summer night, arms linked and laughing as they thought about their time in Smallville. Suddenly Chloe pulled her arm away from Lois and groaned.

"Damn! I forgot my tapes from the interview at the Planet!" She smacked herself in the forehead and walked over to the street to hail a cab. "I have to go back and get the tapes so I can jot down notes tonight. Your interview tomorrow is fairly pointless without them."

Lois walked over to Chloe and gave her a reassuring pat on the arm. "Chlo, I can get by without the notes."

"Getting by is not doing your best. There's no point to being a team if I don't hold up my end of it, so I'm going back to the Planet. You should come with me. We'll stop on the way back and get some ice cream, my treat for being the most forgetful person you know."

Lois laughed at that. She knew that to be very much a lie. "Cuz, this is the first thing I remember you forgetting. _I_ am the most forgetful person I know. Smallville is a close second." She paused a second, thinking over that statement.

"Seriously, he always makes up lame reasons for showing up and hanging out with us. He'll drive hours just to come to the Planet and sit around for twenty minutes while we work. Then I ask him why he came and he starts stammering and mumbling about having nothing else to do. He's the lone worker on a farm! How does he have nothing to do?"

That little rant held so much unknown in it for who she'd been. God, if only she'd known then what she did now. It wouldn't have stopped her from giving him a hard time about being mopey, but it certainly would have made her feel... well, probably things she wasn't ready to feel about him.

Chloe finally waved down a cab and turned to face Lois. "Are you sure you don't want to come? Free ice cream AND you don't have to walk by yourself. It's a win/win situation." She opened the cab door, said a quick hello to the driver to make sure he didn't take his car elsewhere and turned back to Lois. "There's already been one attempt on your life, Lois. You need to be careful. Come on, nothing like ice cream and safety to make your young cousin happy."

Huh. She could change things, at least in her dream, if she didn't try to walk home. She'd probably wake up from her dream when she deviated, but who cared? If she could get out of one of these things without any violence, it would not be a negative. She open her mouth to speak.

"Chloe, I can walk by myself back to our apartment. It's a ten minute walk, and even in this less than top notch area of the city I can survive by myself. I promise, Chloe, nothing will happen that I can't handle. Besides, I wouldn't mind kicking some ass tonight. I'd work off a few of the calories I just took in."

Wait, why had she said that? She'd wanted to say sure, she'd go with her and then whatever happened would have been different. She certainly hadn't wanted to keep reenacting the night, so why had she said the opposite of what she meant? She felt her body move and hug Chloe, saying goodbye and giving a quick wave as the cab drove off.

This had never happened before. She'd lost control; it was like being a passenger in her own body, in her own lucid dream. She tried to stop herself from walking but she just kept moving, walking down the street. She recognized everything she saw as her eyes scanned the buildings without her doing it. Her body just kept walking, the brisk pace to her steps not making Lois feel any better.

Suddenly she felt a hand around her mouth and was being dragged somewhere. She reached up to pull the arm away, and realizes she was in control of her body again. She couldn't free herself to yell for help, and tried to bite her attacker but couldn't get her mouth to move enough.

She lost a heel as she was dragged, and felt her foot slide in and out of a puddle as she tried to drag her feet, which turned out to be equally as useless. Nothing would work!

Her eyes bulged as she was punched in the stomach, air being expelled from her lungs through her nose. She tried to breathe in but it wasn't working. She felt herself get punched again, this time in the side, her ribs cracking loudly. The hand over her mouth moved and she would have screamed if she could have pulled in a breath, but the air was still knocked out of her and it didn't feel like it wanted to come back anytime soon.

She started feeling blows come in from everywhere, hitting her in the face and head as many times as the body. She should have lost consciousness by now, but all she felt was pain, and the blows wouldn't stop.

Hitting the ground, she could feel her body being kicked, her legs finally getting the treatment the rest of her had. She could barely pull in ragged breaths through one nostril that was quickly getting clogged with dried blood, and felt her mouth filling with blood before it dribbled out between her lips onto the ground. She would have cried out if she could as she felt her leg snap, but the pain just melted into everything else, and refused to stop.

Jordan ran into the house and Clark put AJ down in front of Chloe, smiling at her as she looked up at him with bewilderment, or the closest thing a one year old could manage, painted on her face. She was always curious as to why anybody would put her down and make her stand. She seemed to like walking most of the time, but he'd noticed that she definitely preferred to be held, especially by Lois.

"Thanks for watching them for a little while, Chloe. I just wanted to give Lois a little extra time to nap this afternoon, and I wanted to do some quick research while the house is quiet."

"Don't worry about it, Clark. I'm always happy to see these two, and anyway I owe you for the other night when Bruce and I... well, you know. Plus, we're family." She shrugged, as if that was enough all by itself.

"Well, thank you anyway. If Lois is still sleeping, I'll be back over in half an hour or so to pick them up. Andy might actually conk out on you soon since we just ate some lunch."

"Bobby went down a little while ago, so if Andy starts to get sleepy, she can join her cousin. Ya know, sometimes I think these two spend so much time sleeping in the same bed that they may grow up thinking they're twins."

Clark grinned, watching as Chloe picked up Andy, who laid her head down on her aunt's shoulder. "Born fifteen minutes apart, both with dark hair and big for their ages... I don't know why they might ever grow up thinking such things."

"No kidding. See you in a little while."

He smiled at her before backing away and turning around, making the short walk over to their house. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon, with a bit of a breeze rustling at his shorts as he walked up to their house. He opened the door as quietly as he could, and did the same as he closed it again. He walked into the living room, and saw that Lois was still asleep though it looked a bit fitful. After a second though, she whimpered and started thrashing even harder.

Frowning, Clark walked over next to the couch and kneeled down next to it. Was that a tear rolling down her cheek? That was enough to spur him into action. He placed a hand on her shoulder and started shaking her gently, and a moment later her eyes shot open.

Then she screamed.

It caught him so off guard that he fell backwards onto his butt, and he blinked as she screamed again and jumped off the couch. She moved a couple steps before she fell over, then crawled into the closest corner and rolled up into a ball, pushing her face down into her knees. She started rocking, and he could hear sobs.

Picking himself up off the floor, Clark walked slowly over to her. She looked up at him, terror in her eyes, making him flinch back. Steeling himself, he reached forward again. "Lo, it was just a dream. Everything's fine now, I promise." As his hand got closer, she started pushing herself deeper into the corner, as if trying to get away from him.

He pulled his hand back and ran it through his hair, trying to figure out what to do. Lois just sat there, rolled up in a ball and rocking, sobbing into her legs. She'd been fine when he left. What the hell had happened?


	64. Chapter 64

---- Chapter 64

Lois pulled a shirt on over her head, pulling her hair loose from the collar. Sighing, she looked around at her room, noting the that even though she'd been moved to a new facility, it still wasn't much of a room. At least now she was allowed to wear real clothes.

They'd never had her on suicide watch, but she'd been treated like all the other crazies: a drab room full of nothing. Clothes that seemed to suck the life out of everything around them, they were so dull. She'd never been one to gravitate towards bright clothes, aside from the occasional yellow shirt here and there, but those dull whites had been awful.

Standing up, Lois pulled on a pair of shorts and slipped her feet into some sandals. She walked over to the window and looked out at the green of spring. Until a couple days before, it had been a month since she'd anything resembling nature. Granted, for the first week she'd had trouble doing anything that wasn't being scared by every sound she heard.

It had been like being trapped in a never ending circle. Every time the world around her seemed to calm down and she could breathe again, something else would pop up and the attack would jump into her mind, and those were the few times the memory wasn't just happening over and over again. She'd see the attack, almost feeling it again, and curl into a ball to protect herself from the memory of the pain.

Getting to the point where the world didn't petrify her had been liberating, though it had seemed to take ten times as long as it had. They'd said it was a minor miracle it didn't take week or months.

Since then, she'd been able to make slow progress in accepting what she'd experienced. It... hurt. She frowned, thinking about the days she'd spent with therapists, asking her about what she could recall. When she would tell them that she could remember everything, vividly, they would ask her to tell her in detail. Getting through it in one telling without falling into sobs had taken two weeks of two therapy sessions a day.

Aside from the memory itself, she hated the uncontrollable crying the most. For most of her time at the first facility, she didn't even realize she'd started until she was already half curled up and her sides were hurting. It wasn't as bad now, but it still took her unawares at times. Crying had always been something she thought was something that only happened in weak moments, and she always knew it was coming before it happened until now. After this, it seemed as likely she would cry as laugh.

Lois walked out of her room and out into the hallway, smiling at the various orderlies and patients she passed until she got to the doors leading to the lawn. Walking outside, she took in the fresh air a moment before going down the few steps and walking through the courtyard. She spied a spot that she'd come to like in her few days here; it was shaded throughout the day, keeping it cool in the June sun, and had a nice breeze that ran across it.

Walking over to the spot, she sat down on the bench and sighed as the breeze wafted across her face. Peaceful. This spot was peaceful, and peace was not something she'd had a lot of recently. Not only was her mind anything but peaceful, but she was told to talk about this, consider that, describe such and such... She'd never been big on being told what to do, and despite the fact that it was helping her recover, she still wasn't fond of it. This was the one spot in the world that seemed to leave her in charge of herself lately.

Lois spent a little while just sitting and watching people move around the courtyard. It wasn't a big facility, but had enough people that she didn't think she'd ever meet more than half of them unless she was here for years. What an awful thought. Fortunately, she'd been told that it wasn't highly unlikely. Of course, so was her remembering the attack.

The attack jumped into her mind and Lois winced, feeling her heart rate jump as it played out. She took deep breaths, calming herself down as the memory played itself out and she felt her heart slow down again. That had been another one of those annoying things she'd experienced: a panic attack. She'd had one while she'd been at the other facility, and if she never had another one she would be giddy.

Thirsty, Lois got up off the bench and slowly walked inside, getting a bottle of water from the cafeteria. She grabbed a couple bagels, too, tearing a hunk off one and popping it into her mouth as she walked along the hallways. She smiled at a few people, not getting much in return as she walked back outside and headed towards a small fountain on the opposite end of the courtyard from her bench. She listened to the falling water as she sat on the edge of the little pool underneath the fountain, eating her bagels in a content not quite silence.

"Lois, how are you doing today?"

Shielding her eyes against the sun, Lois looked over and spotted who was talking to her. "Morning, Dr. Deter. I'm alright, how are you?"

"I'm fine, thank you. How are you enjoying your time here so far?"

"I'm able to be outside and see a color other than drab, dull white, so you've got the old place beat. I'm still in a mental health facility, though, so enjoying my time isn't exactly what I would call it. I just want to be better and see my girls again."

Thirty four days. It had been thirty four days since she'd seen Jordan and Andy, and it was tearing her heart apart. She'd seen Clark a few times, and he'd done his best to keep her up to date on how the girls were doing, but it was seriously lacking. She didn't get to hug them, kiss them or tell them that mommy just needed more time to feel better. She sighed as she wiped a tear off her cheek. Every time she thought of them she started to feel the tears.

As much as it hurt, it was for the best. She didn't want Jordan and Andy seeing her like this.

"They're allowed to come here, Lois. Unlike your last facility, Larned, visitation is encouraged here. Your husband and daughters are free to come anytime they wish, and it might be helpful with your progress."

"Not like this. I love my girls more than I can say, but I do not want them seeing their mother in a mental hospital."

"Why?"

"Why?" Lois laughed bitterly. "I'm in a mental health facility! Even if the place doesn't have a big honking fence surrounding it to keep the truly nuts in, it's still what it is and I'm still not healthy!"

"I never said you were healthy, Lois, just that it might be helpful to see them. Your children are obviously very important to you, as they should be, but this is the first we've talked about them at any length and I can tell that you pride yourself on being strong for them."

"I pride myself on being strong for everybody. That's who I am." Lois took a sip of her water, looking at the trees instead of at the doctor. Impromptu sessions like these, where she was ambushed by a doctor, made her want to kick things, mostly the doctor that ambushed her, which was usually Dr. Deter.

"Identifying yourself as the strong person in the lives of those close to you, as the pillar they can lean on, is something that you may need to let go of to fully recover. Being there for the people close to you and being strong are not one and the same."

"Being strong is what I do for family, Doc," Lois said as she rubbed at an eye. "If they need somebody to talk to, to tell them what they don't want to hear or just need help, I was, and will be again, that person. I had to be strong when I was young, because I had to be a mother figure for my sister. She didn't like it, but that's how it was. I stayed that way because it worked for me."

"What put you in that position?"

"My mother died when I was young. Instead of stepping up as a father, the General delegated Lucy to my command. Instead of being her sister, I tried to be a replacement for our mom, and she rebelled until daddy decided to send her to boarding school in Europe."

Dr. Deter was silent, so Lois took a bite of what was left of her second bagel, washing it down with some water. Plain. Whoever had put a plain bagel in the cinnamon raison basket should be thumped upside the head.

"Do you think that you're mistaking the need for strength with the need for understanding, Lois? There is strength in understanding."

This outta be good. "How so?"

"From what you've told me, it sounds like you tried to be strong for your sister, but you never went out of your way to be understanding. Or maybe you did, and you didn't like the way you saw yourself, so you stopped looking at her angle and just saw that she needed an authority figure, and that's who you were going to be.

"I think that, as you said, you've kept that trend going through your life; when family needs somebody to hear them and understand their problems, you're there for them. You're not trying to understand their problems, though, so much as fix them without thinking about them. It's admirable, but now you're doing the same thing in regards to your daughters.

"Instead of understanding that they can help their mother now, you're trying to fix yourself so that they can have her to lean on in the future. It's not wrong to want to fix things for them; that's part of being a parent, and I'm guilty of the same. The same goes for family. You have no idea how much family support can help this process, though, and if you continue to shut out your daughters, they won't be able to help you."

"My daughters are four and one. They could only be hurt by seeing their mother like this."

Lois nearly growled in annoyance when she heard the doctor chuckle. "I know that children are often more observant than we give them credit for, Lois, but do you really think your children will be scarred by seeing you here? I think they'll jut be happy to see you. Your four year old may vaguely remember it twenty years from now, but your youngest won't even know it ever happened until you tell her one day."

"I don't want them to see me when I'm so weak, alright! I don't know when or if I'm going to cry in any situation anymore, and that's not the mother my girls know. They don't need to be confused by seeing me break down at random! I'm supposed to be there for them, and be a constant in their lives. That's already being disrupted by this whole thing, and I don't need it to be screwed up anymore than it already is!"

Dammit, again with the crying. Lois wiped away some tears and sniffled, taking a hanky from Dr. Deter when he offered it. She sighed, wishing that she could be better, or at least stable. As it was, she seemed to be on a big teeter totter, going up and down perpetually. Annoying was the first and least forceful of many words to describe it. It fu-king sucked. She turned to face him as he spoke.

"I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do with your daughters, Lois. That kind of decision is up to you and your husband. But, I think that allowing your daughters to see you here, when you feel you're at a weak point, will be a good step to getting yourself to a place where you're able to feel in control again."

"How in the world will it help?"

"It will be something that you control. One of the main things you've described hating about this is a lack of control over your body and how it reacts when you think about what happened, and of course the lack of control you had in the attack."

Lois winced and noticed that he wasn't speaking anymore a second later. She closed her eyes and calmed herself down, taking deep breaths as the attack played through her mind. Every time it happened, she relived every punch and kick that had been used on her. The sound of the boned in her leg snapping might be the worst sound she would ever remember hearing.

"Are you alright, Lois?" She nodded and opened her eyes, and he continued from where he'd been a second later. "From what you've described in your life, you like to be in control of your life, and what goes on around you. Everybody does. Seeing your daughters while you're here, while difficult, is something you ultimately control in a big, uncontrollable world."

Lois frowned and tossed the rest of her bagel on the ground for the birds. Stupid psychiatrists and their sense making theories! Understanding instead of strength, controlling things in a world where control was hard to come by... Jesus, maybe she was transparent or something. That would be annoying. Hopefully it was just a psychiatrist thing.

"I'll, uh... I'll consider having the girls come to see me. It's not my idea of a good time, but if you think it will help... I just don't like using them to get better."

"It's not just for you, Lois. Your daughters haven't seen you in over a month, and if you're half as close them as you describe, I'm sure that they miss you as much as you do them." He stood up from where he'd been sitting next to her. "I hope you'll really give this some thought. I'll see you Monday."

She gave him a small, less than enthusiastic wave, sighing. Why hadn't she just gone to her good spot in the shade? Now she was stuck with all these extra things to think about and consider. Damn doctors! Why couldn't they just leave her alone for a day? She'd wanted a little peace and quiet, getting some sun by the fountain, and instead she got an impromptu twenty minutes of hearing that she needed to do this or that because of the attack and her apparent love of control.

"It's been five days since we talked about having your daughters come visit. Have you thought anymore about it?"

She pulled her legs up under her body, scratching at an eyebrow as she looked at Dr. Deter. He looked like he always did, with a buttoned up shirt and khaki pants. The grey in his beard was starting to overtake the dark brown. All in all, he looked like a therapist, or at least what she'd always imagined one would look like.

"I have."

"Have you come to any decisions?"

"No. I talked to Clark about it when he visited a couple days ago, and he thought it was a good idea, but I still don't like it. As much as it could be helpful to my recovery, I still don't want my daughters to see me like this. I feel like I've lost the strength of mind I always thought I had. Why should I show my daughters a wounded version of me when they can see a whole version of me?"

"You're not wounded, Lois, you're healing. You keep saying how much you dislike the process, but when I bring up an option that may expedite your release, you don't like what I say."

"Then say something that doesn't involve my daughters seeing me crazy."

"Why do you keep calling yourself crazy? You're recovering from an extremely traumatic, life defining moment. That takes time."

Lois scoffed. "And that time has me in a building full of people with mental health problems, leading me to the conclusion that I also have mental health problems! Do you know what they call people with mental health problems? Crazy!"

"You're not crazy, Lois. The fact that you've come as far as you have since your breakdown is quite remarkable, and shows your mental fortitude. I don't think you've lost the strength of mind, as you said, so much as you're proving it."

"Proving it? If I'm recovering quickly, then why the hell am I still here?"

"Because you still have problems dealing with what happened to you."

"I accept that I was attacked." She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth for a second as it played through her mind. "My reactions are normal."

"They are. The fact that your heart rate jumps whenever you think about it is evidence that you need more time, though. Accepting the attack is fine, but you're not accepting that it affects more than just your memory. Right now it affects your mental health, physical health and your relationships."

"It is NOT affecting my relationships!"

"How many people in your life have you allowed to see you?"

"Just my husband."

"Why?"

"For the same reasons that I don't want my daughters to see me. Clark has already seen me at some of the lowest points in my life, even if I don't remember them, and so him seeing me like this is less... jarring, I guess would be the word."

She watched as he tapped his pen against his arm, then looked back up at his eyes. She could see the gears turning in his head, but had no idea what he was going to say. He liked to take these opportunities to surprise her. "What about your cousin, Chloe?"

Yeah, she wouldn't have expected that. "What about her?"

"In our first meeting, when you were telling me everything, you said that she'd been there for you most of your life. Hasn't she seen almost as many low points in your life as Clark?"

"I guess."

"Why haven't you seen her since you came here, then?"

Lois swallowed, her mouth suddenly feeling dry. "I, uh... I asked her not to come, through Clark."

"Why?"

"Because I like being there for her. I've never had a problem asking her for help, but having her see me so weak, so lost..."

"You're afraid that how she views you will change."

Lois ran a hand through her hair and unfolded her legs so that she was sitting more normally again. "How can it not?"

"Our views of others are always changing, Lois. When you woke up without your memory, didn't your views change of both Clark and Chloe? When you found out your cousin had children and saw how happy they are, didn't you go from viewing her as your younger cousin you did things for as your younger cousin, a mother and wife?"

"Well, yeah, but that would have happened anyway. This whole thing wasn't something we knew was going to change."

"What about Clark?"

"I always thought he'd be a good father, though a more mopey one than he turned out to be."

"But how you viewed him changed along with how he viewed himself."

"That's true."

"It's also true for you. How you view yourself directly impacts how others view you. If you view yourself as crazy and weak, which is how you've taken to describing yourself, then that's what other people are going to see. It might not impact their reactions to you, and what they say, but they'll see the difference, even if it goes unsaid."

She knew this. It was basic psychology that how you saw yourself impacted how others saw you. She couldn't help hating the fact that he was right about how she saw herself. No, she didn't hate that he was right about it, she hated that it was true. She saw herself as weak and crazy.

"How... how do I change how I view myself?"

"Time. Not calling yourself crazy and weak. Believing that your time here is for the best, and not just a means for an end. Allowing yourself to be vulnerable with your entire family, not just your husband, even if the only times those vulnerabilities show through are when you have no control over them."

"So, not a whole lot?"

Dr. Deter laughed, and Lois smiled a little. It really felt like it had been days since she'd smiled, when she'd only gone through about half her session so far. "I think a good first step would be to allow your cousin to see you. I would say your daughters, but with the resistance you've shown to that..."

"No. If I'm going to start, then I'm going to start with my daughters. Just... not yet. I need a little more time."

"So, I'm told Clark stopped by this weekend. Did you two discuss bringing your daughters here to see you?"

"We did," Lois said, looking down at the ground. "He still thinks that it's a very good idea, and is willing to do it anytime I want. The problem is... I'm scared."

"What has you scared?"

"It's difficult for me to go an hour without thinking about what happened to me. What am I supposed to do when Jordan asks me about why I'm here? The attack is going to pop into my mind and I'm going to have to fight down the panic I can feel lurking, waiting to overtake me." Lois looked at her hand and found that it was shaking, and she held it out for the doctor to see for a moment. "You see what just discussing it does to me?"

"You can deal with the panic and fight it off, though. That's why you were allowed to transfer here: if you still fell victim to it, you'd still be at Larned."

Lois sighed and leaned back on the couch, looking at Dr. Deter. "I've been doing my best to think positively about all this, and tell myself that I am neither crazy, nor weak, but when I see my hand shaking like that I just go back to them. I think that I'm not supposed to be that person, and it feels like it unravels everything positive."

"I hate to say it, because it's not the most helpful, but it's two steps forward, one step backwards. Progress is rarely quick, otherwise there would be a better name for it, like instant. You are moving forward, though, and that commendable."

"Commendable is great, but I want to feel like I'm actually accomplishing something. Hell, the last time that I felt like I accomplished something was when I walked my other therapist at Larned through the attack without ending up curled into a ball."

"Success can be tricky. When you get something you want, it doesn't always feel like you've actually accomplished something. That's how it may be; success may come, and you may feel like you haven't made any strides towards your goals."

"You're not instilling me with a lot of warm fuzzies here, doc. Shouldn't accomplishments feel rewarding? I know that you consider me considering bringing my daughters in to see me an accomplishment, but it makes me jumpy! With everything that it entails..." Lois flexed her hands to keep them from starting shaking again. "Not feeling like I'm making progress just makes my stay here feel like it's ten times longer than it is."

"Before your breakdown, what did you define as a success?"

Lois thought for a moment before answering. "Professionally, it was seeing that somebody who'd escaped justice have to face the people he or she had wronged. It was exhilarating to investigate a story, but knowing that I was exposing the crimes of people who thought they were better than everybody else and could get away with it always filled me with a kind of pride. Not that they were wrong, but that I was making a difference.

"Personally... my daughters. I've never done anything better in my life than make those two girls with Clark. They're going to grow up to be amazing people. I don't know how much credit I can take for that, really, because Clark is... well, he's special, and I don't remember the first three years of Jordan's life. But I can already see in their personalities that they're going to be like me, and I'm not afraid to say that scares me a little."

"Why's that?"

"I'm a risk taker. The worst kind of risk taker, really, because I never think about what could happen before I do something. It's not that I don't look before I leap, it's that I don't even realize I've jumped until somebody tells me. By that point I'm already a hundred percent in, so I just keep going. I don't want that for my daughters. I prefer that they be safe, forever."

"As much as it pains every parent, you can't control everything your children do, especially once they're old enough to make bigger decisions."

"I know. Believe me, I'm the poster child for a parent not being able to control his daughter. Having been that, I do not trust Clark's genes and good influence, along with my warnings and probable badgering, to overwhelm their nose for mischief. I've already seen the rebelliousness in Jordan. Hell, she already likes to look out for her cousins, Aly and Liz, when they play together. She's going to be me, except she'll look like her father."

"How old are her cousins?"

"Five. They're nine months older than she is, but she's already got an inch or two on each of them."

"Do you think she learned this behavior from the way you've tried to look after your cousin?"

Lois shrugged. "It's entirely possible. She's always seems most attentive when I'm at my loudest, and I'm generally at my loudest when I'm trying to help." Lois paused a second before speaking again. "We seem to have strayed from our usual topic of me. Not that I mind, really, since I enjoy talking about my kids."

"How you view your daughter is another view on how you viewed yourself as a kid, but much less critical."

"I take it this is a good thing."

"Would you rather see something from one angle or as many angles as possible?"

"Right, right."

"Clark and I decided on a day when he would bring Jordan and Andy in to see me." She smiled when Dr. Deter looked surprised. She never got to be the one to do the surprising in these sessions.

"I'm glad to here that, Lois. When's the big day?"

"Saturday. I think that's the 24th if you need to write down a specific day in a file or something." She noticed him lean towards his desk and write something, figuring that the specific date was indeed something that he wanted to know.

"I think your visit needs to be supervised, Lois."

"Um, alright. Clark's going to be there for it, of course..."

"I was thinking more along the lines of myself, or another psychiatrist that works here if you prefer it."

Lois frowned. "If it has to be somebody, it would be you, but why?"

"A person doesn't always know how he or she will react in a given situation. When you see your children, it may very well be the best thing you feel has happened to you since your breakdown. But, you may see them and have an adverse reaction to it. You had a panic attack at Larned, and I would like to be with you leading up to the visit in case you become overly anxious. I'll also be there during your visit to observe, but I'll be out of your way."

"Doc, an anxiety attack isn't going to happen! It's my girls, for Christ sake!" Lois paused a second. "And even if it could, can't you give me some sort of anti-anxiety pill before the visit so that it's a lot less likely?"

"I could, but that might mask something that needs to be seen and dealt with before you're released. Better to fix your problems now rather than have something related to the attack pop up five years from now."

Lois leaned forward, resting her elbows on her thighs. "Will I ever be a hundred percent healthy? I know that I'm going to be in therapy at least twice a week once I get out of here, but can problems really pop up down the line, out of the blue and totally unexpected?"

"With the long term continuation of therapy, chances should be slim and none, but nobody in the mental health profession claims to know everything about the mind. We've made strides, but everything that happens in a persons thoughts, conscious and subconscious, may always be a mystery to us. We are still a very young field of medicine."

"That's disheartening," Lois grumbled.

"Like I said, better that we see and deal with things now. That's why your first visitation with your children, and others that are close to you, is observed. Sometimes second visitations are observed as well, and we'll cross that bridge when we come to it, as the saying goes."

They sat in silence for a moment, and Lois swallowed, closing her eyes before she spoke. "Do you think something negative might happen when I see my girls?"

"So, the big reunion is tomorrow. How are you feeling?"

"Nervous. I know that to Jordan, this will probably be a vague memory, and Andy won't even remember it, but seeing them... All those issues I was telling you about, with the feeling weak and crazy? They've kinda come rushing back into my mind, no matter how positive I've tried to stay. To be honest, it's pretty damn annoying."

"But not unexpected."

"No. You told me that this may happen, that my feelings weren't going to be gone just because I wanted them to be, but I was hoping you were wrong. I like to be right, if you haven't noticed."

"I have."

"I want to see my daughters. I haven't wanted anything more since I was pregnant with Andy and past my due date, wanting her to be born. I haven't seen them going on two months now. It might be less painful to tear my own heart out, one little piece at a time, if I panic and can't make myself see them tomorrow. I love them, so much, but seeing them... it scares me.

"It scares the hell out of me that Jordan, with her photographic memory, will remember seeing her mom in a mental health facility. Then, when she's old enough to understand it, what if she thinks less of me? I know she won't, because I like to think we'll teach her better than that, but there's that little inkling in the back of my head that the part of her that's me could win out and she'll start thinking I was weak and crazy, because hey, that's how I think.

"Or what if she's fifteen and one of her friends brings it up? What if she's teased because her mom spent time in a place like Larned? Until I had kids, I never thought more than thirty seconds ahead. Now, I find myself thinking about how my actions, how my life will affect my kids five, ten and twenty years down the line."

"You share that trait with many people, Lois."

"I know. I try my best to be a good mom, and I like to think I'm succeeding, but suddenly my world is different! Instead of knowing that I'm going to lose my memory every few years, I now know that while that shouldn't happen anymore, I'm going to be a profoundly different person. Well, maybe not profoundly, but I'm not going to be who I was, and that means my approach to life is going to change. That makes me all kinds of uncomfortable, because I was very used to what I was.

"We've been over this, but strength is what I always had. Strength was easy, or at least it was for me. I never had to work at being strong, it's just what I was. Now, Jordan emulates me. I've told you how she's always most attentive when I'm at my loudest. When I'm loud, I'm trying to help, and that's when I'm being strong. I'm afraid that she'll emulate me being strong, and has inherited my penchant for skipping the understanding. How do I teach not only her, and eventually her sister, something that I'm not even sure I understand?"

"How are you feeling?"

Lois bit her lip and scratched her arm. She took a couple deep breaths and smiled at Dr. Deter. "Better than I thought I would be, actually."

"Ready to try again?"

"Yeah... yeah, I'm ready. Are they still here?"

"They're waiting in the front room."

Lois stood up and took another few deep breaths, calming herself down before starting to walk. She ran a hand through her hair as she passed the doctor and got out into the hallway, heading towards the front room. Everything was going to be alright. She was going to see her daughters. Everything was going to be alright because she was going to see her daughters. They would make everything alright. If she could just get to them without freaking out, everything would be alright!

Keeping her head down as she walked, she passed a bunch of feet on her way towards the front of the building. She could do this. It would be alright. She took a couple deep breaths, feeling her heart speed up. She could do this. It would be alright. God, how far was it to the front of the building? Why wasn't she there yet?

"Mommy?"

Lois froze, her heart jumping into her throat. She closed her eyes and did her best to catch her breath. Her heart was pounding as she opened her eyes again and looked up, spotting Jordan standing a few feet in front of her. "Jordan?"

"Mommy!"

Jordan ran and jumped, leaving Lois no choice but to catch her, wrapping her arms around her baby girl. When Jordan wrapped her arms around her neck, Lois felt her heart rate drop and for the first time since her breakdown, she felt relaxed. "Oh God, my baby girl... I've missed you so much, Jordan."

"Are you feeling better, mommy?"

"I am now. God, I am now. I love you, Jordan." They stood there for a minute and Lois felt the tears leaking down her cheeks, which she finally didn't mind. "Where's daddy and Andy?"

"We're behind you, Lo."

Lois turned around and smiled when she saw Clark holding Andy. She put Jordan down on the ground and pulled Andy into her arms as she reached for her. "My little Andy... I've missed you so much. I love you so much, little girl."

What had been scary just minutes before was suddenly as happy as Lois remembered being. Why hadn't she done this sooner? "I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've seen you two. I love you both more than you know. I promise, we'll never be apart so long again until you leave for college, or something like that."

"Mama!"

"I couldn't agree more, my little Andy."

"Are you coming home now, mommy?"

Lois ran a hand over Jordan's head, smiling down at her. "Soon, baby girl. I'll be home when I'm all better, and I think that will be soon."


	65. Chapter 65

---- Chapter 65

"So _that's_ what our house looks like!" Lois grinned over at Clark as he pulled them into the driveway. "It's been over two months since I've been home, so I was starting to lose my mental picture of it."

Clark parked the car and leaned over, kissing her on the neck. Damn, of all the things she hadn't thought about in her time in the mental hospitals, she definitely hadn't thought about the little ticklish spots he knew so well. She fought against a giggle, of all things, as he pulled back and got out of the car. Mental health did not mean she had to giggle!

Rolling her eyes, Lois got out of the car as Clark opened her door for her. "I appreciate the chivalry, Smallville, but I can do things all on my own."

"Then why were you just sitting in the car?"

"I was fighting off the urge to giggle." She pointed at him. "And I was doing it all because of you, so quit being adorable and kissing me in places that make me want to giggle."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen." Lois smiled as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and started nuzzling her neck. She didn't fight the giggles this time. He stopped and rested his chin on her shoulder. "We should probably go inside."

Lois frowned. "Do we have to? I'm kinda dreading this part."

"I'm sure Dr. Deter would say that this is an integral part of the healing process."

"I call bullshit."

"Be that as it may, it has to be done."

"Fine, but it's happening under protest." Lois sighed and started walking towards the house, feeling Clark's arms slide off her. Looking at the front door, she sighed again before reaching for the knob. Taking a deep breath, she looked back at Clark, who just ushered her on, and she pushed open the door.

"Welcome home!"

Lois plastered on a pleasant looking smile as she walked into the throng of friends and family awaiting her. When she reached the crowd and saw just how many people were waiting for her, she smiled sincerely and got wrapped in a hug by Chloe. Why couldn't it have been just Chloe? "Welcome home, Lo."

"Thanks, Chlo. It's good to be home." She let go of Chloe and ran a hand through her hair, looking around at all the people that were there. She waved at Perry, who gave her a nod before walking over.

"Good to see you, Lois. Any word on when I can expect you back at work?"

Lois smiled. "I'll be back soon, Chief. The doc recommended that I take my time and slowly work it back into my life, so I think I'll be back full time in a week or two."

"Fantastic! Now, it's a Friday afternoon, so I need to get back to the office." He looked back at the throng of people. "Jimmy!"

Lois rolled her eyes as Jimmy made his way through the crowd and smiled at Lois sheepishly. "Your sister is really nice, Lois."

"She is."

Perry cut in. "Alright, enough small talk. Jimmy, let's head back to work. Chloe, I want your story on the north side developments for the Tuesday morning edition. Lois, the sooner your back, the fewer blood pressure pills I have to take. No pressure."

"Wasn't feeling any, Perry. See ya soon."

She watched them walk out and spoke to Chloe. "North side developments?"

"Later. Go greet your friends and enjoy your afternoon."

"My afternoon would be a little better if I could see my girls while talking to my friends."

"Martha and Bruce have them over at my place. Why don't you mingle for a little while before sneaking out to see them. Chances are, in a room full of super heroes, only half of them will notice."

Lois frowned at Chloe. "You make it sound like I've lost my touch. I bet I could get out of here with only twenty percent noticing. I'd say nobody, but I'm not as young as I used to be."

"If only," she heard Chloe mumble. "I can't believe I'm thirty six. Where the hell did the time go?"

"Very good question, cuz. I'm going to be thirty seven real soon, and considering I don't remember about thirteen years of it, I feel as though I should be pushing my mid twenties. Be that as it may, we can still kick ass, and that's what is really important in life. We won't truly be old until we can't do that anymore, and considering the fact that I plan on always kicking ass, I will never be old. What about you?"

"By that criteria, I plan on never being old either."

Lois smiled and wrapped an arm around Chloe's shoulders. "Good, because if you were planning on not kicking ass in the future, I was going to have to question whether or not we were actually related."

"Ha! Like you could get rid of me. Our kids are already as close as we were at their ages. I really don't know if Bobby and Andy are going to be aware that they aren't twins until one of us tells them when they're ten."

"I think they might notice before then, Chloe. Probably. They don't look all that similar, though I've known twins where that was true."

Lois worked her way through the people that had come to greet her, conversing with most of them for little while. She enjoyed herself, but through all of it was hoping she could get away to see Jordan and Andy. While talking to Diana, she locked eyes with Clark and he smiled at her, making her smile too. He walked off and disappeared from her sight, and she let her eyes drift back to Diana.

"How have things been in New York?"

"Pleasantly slow. It's really been that way for most of the time you were gone. It seems that the world doesn't turn quite as quickly without Lois Lane Kent in the middle of all the action."

"That's flattering, but I haven't been to New York since... well, I don't remember when. Point being, as much as I like to be considered the center of the universe, I'm not even the center of my _own_ universe anymore. That spot is reserved for two little girls."

Diana smiled and nodded her head off to the left. "Speaking of which..."

Lois looked over and smiled as Clark walked into the house with Andy in his arms and Jordan running ahead of him. She wove her way through the adults and jumped up at Lois, who once more happily caught her. "Hey there, baby girl!"

"Welcome home, mommy."

"Oh, thank you so much." She turned and faced Diana again as she got Jordan settled in her arms.

"Hi, aunt Diana."

Diana smiled at Jordan. "How are you doing, Jordan?"

"Good."

"I'm glad. I'll let you spend some time with your mommy."

Lois smiled at Diana. "Thanks. You going to stick around or head back home?"

"I have some League business to take care of, but I'm sure I'll see you soon. If nothing else, Clark will be telling us about how annoyed you are by not working."

"Hey, I don't... I won't..." Lois sighed. "Yeah, after talking to Perry earlier, I'm already starting to want to head back there and jump into something."

"Take care of yourself, Lois."

"You too, Diana."

Lois watched Diana walk away for a second before looking down at Jordan. Her daughter smiled up at her. "Can I jump into something with you, mommy?"

"Dear lord, you may not. You're not allowed to be jumping into anything until you're at least six, and since you'll only be five next month, you're going to have to wait a year." As much as she wanted to believe that such a thing might be true, she knew that once Jordan, Aly and Liz started school, it was only a matter of time before they were all jumping into things, even if they were only kid things.

Walking through the living room, Lois made her way over to Clark, who was holding Andy while he talked with Chloe. She stopped in front of him and looked at Andy a second before looking up at Clark. "Hand her over, Smallville."

"What?"

"Andy. I have a free arm which I have designated to hold the smaller of my two offspring. Now, quit hogging her and Chloe and go mingle."

"Oh, alright," he said in an exaggerated manner. He placed and lightly against her and kissed Lois on the forehead before walking off into the living room. After smiling down at both her girls, she looked up and found Chloe smiling at her.

"What?"

"Happy?"

Lois looked down at Jordan and Andy again, biting her lip as she realized how good things were. "Happy."

"I hate snow," Lois grumbled as she walked along the sidewalk, flakes hitting her in the face with increasing frequency. She quickened her step and walked inside the Daily Planet building, brushing flakes out of her hair as she got into an elevator with a group of people.

The rest of summer and fall had really flown by. They'd done the birthday thing for Jordan and then got her started in school. She was enjoying it, and enjoying having lots of kids to play with. She and the twins still stuck together like glue most of the time, and had a group of friends they all shared. Before Lois had blinked, Halloween had come and gone, along with Thanksgiving, and now it was early December. Freakin' time, always passing in such odd ways.

The ride up was quiet, and after a few stops, they came to her floor and she got off, pulling her jacket off as she walked through the bullpen. She nodded to a couple people and waved at Jimmy as he flew by, getting a quick smile in return. Jimmy and Lucy in a relationship. Who'd have guessed that one?

Tossing her jacket into her office, she moved the few steps backwards and knocked on Chloe's door. She waited a moment before frowning and knocking again, this time louder. She heard something fall over on the desk before she heard Chloe say come in a moment later. She walked in and found that Chloe was sitting in her desk chair with Bruce standing behind her.

"That would explain it. Glad I didn't just knock and walk this time." She smiled as Chloe's cheeks colored a little. "It's good that you two are still so... frisky is the word, I think... after thirteen years of marriage."

"Frisky? I don't know what you're talking about, Lois."

"No? Then why does it seem like you guys are one afternoon tryst away from number five?"

"Number five what?"

"Baby number five. I swear, whenever Bruce is in town I walk in on you two kissing in here. You're probably lucky I'm here to interrupt so often, or who knows what number you guys would be on."

Chloe raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her chest. "You're trying to say this is a bad thing by bringing up babies, of all things? Have you noticed how many kids I have? Jeez, I don't think you've even brought up babies to me since both of ours passed about eight months."

"I was just saying, since you've retired from the baby business, you should be careful. Didn't you two make Bobby in your office in Gotham?"

"That is neither here no there, since he was a planned venture. I mean really, you could have brought up being caught by Perry, or Jimmy, or Clark even, though I doubt he would walk in with his hearing. So why babies?" Chloe's eyes went wide and she snapped her fingers, pointing at Lois. "Oh!"

"Oh?"

"You've got baby on the brain!"

Lois glared at Chloe. "I do not!"

"You do! Through the years, the only times you've been the first time to bring up something baby related was when you asked me what being pregnant was like and when you were actually pregnant. I discount the first one to too much drinking, since I'm fairly certain you never would have asked me sober."

"When was that?"

"My wedding reception. Completely out of the blue and not long before you danced on a table and had to be rescued from your drunken self by Clark. So, what has small, crying people popping into your head?"

"I do not have small, crying people popping in my head. Well, I do, but one is named Jordan and the other Andy, and since Jordan rarely cries, I have one small smiling person in my head."

Chloe scoffed and got up out of her chair, moving over and leaning on Bruce, who was still standing next to the desk chair. He wrapped on arm around Chloe and smiled at Lois. "My wife is telling the truth. From my experiences with you over the years, the only time you willingly bring up babies is when you're thinking about or going towards having one."

"You're just legally required to be on her side."

"I married her because she's correct more often than not and it pays to be on her side. You're usually there, too."

Lois leaned back against the wall and frowned. "I like being on her side, because we almost always agree on things. This time, though, I'm not thinking about babies. Old Lois was the one that never brought them up, and I am new, healthy Lois. That said, what I'm thinking about is just how healthy I actually am and whether or not I'll forget again."

"Dr. Deter said with you remembering the attack, forgetting again is most likely not going to happen."

"That's just it, though: most likely. I don't like the phrase most likely. With most likely, there's still room for the less likely to happen and in this case, that would be awful. I want to keep these memories, as bad as about six weeks of it was. I mean, once I saw the girls, things really turned for me, but the six weeks before that were as bad as anything in my head, even mom dying."

Lois looked down at the floor, sighing before looking back up at Chloe and Bruce, smiling sadly. "Forgetting Jordan and Andy... that's just about the worst thing I can think of, and I can think of some really bad things if I so desire."

"I get it," Chloe said. "You think that if you get pregnant, you'll know once and for all if you're going to forget again because it happened during both your other pregnancies."

"And it really makes me feel like the world's biggest ass for thinking like that. Seriously, there aren't many more selfish reasons to try and have a baby. Going up to Clark and saying 'Let's have another baby to see if I'm really cured or not!' just seems wrong on like, twelve different levels."

"Do you think Clark would object to having another baby?"

"Of course not. You've seen how much he loves Jordan and Andy, and I know that he'd like to try for a boy at some point in time."

"Are you ready for another baby?"

Lois shrugged. "I don't know. I want to try for a boy as much as Clark does, but right now? Andy isn't even two yet, so that just makes me cautious. Since I never thought about having kids when I was younger, I never thought about the pros and cons of having them close together or spread out. It doesn't really matter, because I would love any baby as much as I could, but I think I just need to think about it more."

Chloe walked over and hugged her, making Lois smile a bit. "Whatever decision you make will be the right one, and if you do decide to have a baby, it's going to be because of love. You probably won't even realize you didn't lose your memory until you're three seconds into your five minute labor and delivery."

"Are you going into that again?"

"It's just not fair! I went through hours and hours of pain three times, and your two supposed labors combined wouldn't fit inside one hour of one of my painful labors."

"Yeah, well, you got to have your babies incident free and in a sterile environment with more warning than the urge to push, so I think we're even."

"Ha!"

"Hey, what'd I miss?"

Lois looked over and found Clark walking into the office, smiling as he kissed her on the cheek and looked around. She wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled herself close to him. "Not much. Just the usual banter and such. Where'd you run off to earlier?"

"There was a mudslide in Peru that required some attention."

"Got it."

The rest of the afternoon passed quickly, with their most recent investigation having gone to print a few days before. It had been nice exposing white collar crime once again, especially when the target had been peoples retirement funds. Lois smiled as she walked up to Chloe's house with her cousin and followed her inside, finding Jordan playing in the living room. She'd negotiated with Perry to get off early two days a week to pick up Jordan from school, and on days like these, she got picked up with the twins and Jack while Andy and Bobby stayed in the Wayne house.

After giving Jordan a quick hug and sending her to get her backpack, she picked up Andy and tickled her a bit before smiling at Chloe. "We going to see you guys tonight?"

"Bruce is still making up to the girls for having to miss most of their birthday on League business, so he's doing another big meal for them tonight, along with a couple more presents. I won't be shocked if they both end up with a pony."

"Lucky kids. See ya tomorrow, Chlo."

After a quick bundling of both kids against the cold, Lois jogged them back over to their house and got them into the warmth, getting each kid out of coat and hat. Jordan ran off to go read, her favorite activity since she'd started school, and Lois carried Andy with her as she found Clark sitting in the living room. She sat down on the couch, plopping Andy down in between them. He looked over at her.

"We going to see the Wayne's tonight?"

Lois shook her head. "Bruce is still making up to the twins, so it's another night of Wayne family fun. Just the Kent's this time."

"I guess we can wing that. Have any preferences on what's for dinner?"

"I'm thinking Italian. You thawed that hamburger meat and we have everything else, so how about spaghetti?"

"Sounds good. I'll get it started."

She watched Clark go, debating on whether or not she wanted to talk to him about what had come up earlier in the day with Chloe and Bruce. Well, she had to talk with him, but she almost felt like she needed to prepare herself. Hell, she needed to figure out what the hell she wanted to do. Did she want another baby in nine or ten months? If they decided to go for it, it would probably only take one attempt, if history was any indication.

Shaking her head, she decided to put it off for the moment. They could talk after dinner. She looked down at Andy, who in turn looked up at her as she sucked on her thumb. "You getting hungry, my little Andy? What am I saying, of course you are. Well, dinner is soon and until then, I suggest you just keep on sucking that thumb."

If Lois hadn't known any better, she'd have said that Andy was trying to raise an eyebrow at her. Just in case, she raised an amused eyebrow down at her daughter before tickling her tummy and pulling her into a hug.

A few hours later, dinner had been had and both the girls had conked out for the night. Lois was sitting on the couch, her feet up on the coffee table as she watched television. Clark had been gone for a little while, telling her before he left that there was a hostage situation downtown. She changed the channel, her mind not really on what was playing out on the screen. Talking to Clark about things was still stuck in her head.

Just as her eyes focused on the screen again, there was a gust of cold wind as Clark appeared standing next to the couch. Lois shivered and frowned at him as she pulled a blanket over herself. "Any way you could do that without giving me the chills?"

"There is, but if I don't do that, then I can't do this." In a blink he was in jeans and a white t-shirt and getting under the blanket with her, pulling her close. Lois shrugged and smiled, letting herself melt into him a little bit.

"This is good, so you're forgiven."

"Good to know. What are we watching?"

Lois looked up at the television, letting the show play a moment before she gave up trying to figure it out. "Who knows; I wasn't really paying much attention. Been thinking."

"Uh oh."

"Very funny." Lois took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before speaking again. "I've been thinking about getting pregnant again."

"Huh. Well, I'm not opposed if you aren't, since you do all the heavy lifting, so to speak."

"Well, it's not really what you think. The reason I've been thinking about getting pregnant again is because I want to know if my memory problem really is cured. The one constant we've linked to the last two memory losses is that I was pregnant, and around fifteen weeks into it. Therefore, it goes to reason that a surefire test would be if I were to get pregnant again."

"I'm going to use my keen sense of insight to say that there's more to this than you're letting on."

"My problem is that this feels like an awful reason to make a baby. It's like what is really happening is that I'm testing my memory problem, and then we get a third child as a side effect of the test. It's just that it sits wrong in my head when I think about it, and I feel like I'd be having a kid for a purpose that isn't love."

Clark was silent a moment, and Lois sat up straight, watching him think. He didn't ever really get any looks when he thought, so much as he just looked like he'd been turned into a statue, sitting as still as possible. A really gorgeous statue, to say the least, but a statue none the less. She rolled her eyes, losing patience as he just sat there, now looking more like a bump on a log.

"You going to say anything, Smallville?"

He blinked a couple times and looked at her. "What? Oh, yeah. Any child we make will be out of love. Finding out if you do or do not lose your memory is just a little side note. If you want to have a baby now, then I do to. If you want to wait because you need time to come to the same conclusion I have, then I'm fine with waiting."

Lois frowned and slumped back into the couch. "Why do you make things sound so matter of fact when they sound all guilt ridden in my head?" Lois groaned and covered her face, cringing as she let them slide off and fall limply onto the couch. "I've become the over thinker in the relationship!"

"Somebody had to be, I guess. Maybe you were always the over thinker of the two of us and you just hid it better."

"God, that's depressing." Lois thought about what Chloe had said earlier in the day, and then thought about what Clark had just said. Any child they had would be because of love. Anything else would just be a little aside. She might not even notice until it was all over, like Chloe said. Well, that was unlikely, because she did tend to over think. She looked over at Clark. "Let's do it."

"Do what?"

Lois rolled her eyes and poked him in the ribs, symbolically since it never seemed to bother him. "You know damn well what I'm talking about. I seem to have over thought this, though I maintain that it seemed perfectly valid until I heard you state the obvious."

"Wow, the roles really have reversed over the years." He winked at her and smiled. "So, this usually only takes one try, but I'm very willing to try more than once, especially if there's some time to practice before you're all fertile and whatnot." He paused a moment. "That fertile thing sounded better in my head."

"Well actually, since I've been thinking about this a lot, I noticed that we're at a very good time of the month for me to conceive. So, ya know, if you feel like this is a good idea we can..."

Lois didn't get to finish her thought as Clark leaned over and kissed her quite thoroughly, leaving her breathless a moment later when he picked her up and smiled at her. "Repeat after me: boy boy boy, very tall boy, but a girl would be great too."

Lois grinned and wrapped her arms around Clark's neck. "Boy boy boy, very tall boy, but a girl would be great too.. Let's make a baby Smallville."

August 19, 2026

Lois walked into the bedroom, running a hand through her hair. Reaching up onto the top shelf of the closet, she pulled down a couple of Jordan's presents and put them down on the bed. She slipped out of the heels she'd worn to work and kicked them aside, as she dropped her skirt onto the floor along with them and found a clean pair of jeans to get into. She cracked her neck as she changed her shirt and walked out of the closet, grabbing the presents and heading downstairs.

Getting the presents settled on the coffee table, Lois walked into the kitchen and pulled the ice cream cake they'd ordered and picked up earlier out of the fridge and put it on the counter. Ticking off birthday things in her head, she noted that the ice cream was still in the freezer, of course, the rest of the presents were hidden other places throughout the house since Jordan was quite inventive at getting at them, and the kids were being escorted over to the house by Clark and Bruce in fifteen minutes.

Grabbing the cake, Lois picked up the presents on her way towards the stairs to the basement, and after working the door open without a free hand, headed down into the now very colorful room. She spotted Chloe getting one last streamer up and smiled at her as her cousin turned to watch her put things down.

"The place looks great, Chlo."

"Thanks. I know you're still not the biggest fan of streamers, so I held back."

Lois looked around, finding that Chloe's definition of holding back was extremely different than her own. The basement did look quite festive, though, and letting her cousin decorate for the family party tonight did mean that she didn't have to mess with it when all of Jordan's friends came for the party on Saturday.

"I appreciate it, but the kids love it, and that's what's important. Plus, me not having to decorate is a big plus. It was just never my thing."

"I'm so very sorry that you cannot enjoy the simplicity that is decorating for you child's birthday party."

"Yeah, well, when you have two kids with the same birthday, you let me know how much time you want to use decorating."

Lois walked off into one of the two bedrooms the basement had, walking into it's closet and moving around some blankets before finding a couple of the smaller presents she'd hidden. As she walked back out to put the presents with the others, she spoke to Chloe. "How are you feeling?"

"Nine weeks pregnant. You?"

"Busy. Perry gave Clark and I three different stories today. Wanna come back to the Planet and take one off our hands?"

Chloe smiled, but shook her head. "No, that's alright. I think that I did the right thing, leaving back in March. I just didn't feel like I was making a difference anymore, and working for the online magazine means I can do all my work at home and spend more time with the kids. I don't want to say I felt guilty for spending so much time away from them, but I did a little bit.

"If I get itchy for print, though, Perry said that I can submit articles to him as a freelancer and he'll put 'em in, so I don't think I'll ever be completely out of the game."

"Well, now you can be lazy when you're all tuckered out from you're guest."

"No kidding. I swear, this kid must've just been extremely meant to be because I was on the pill and Bruce was wearing a condom just to be safe, because we were quite happy with four. Don't get me wrong, we're both over the moon that this little one exists, but what more can you do?"

"The only way there'd be less of a chance of you getting pregnant would be if he'd had a vasectomy and you'd had your tubes tied."

"Probably true. But, ya know, I guess we're book ending things with this one, because our first was unplanned, and now our last is as well."

Lois laughed a bit as she walked back into another closet and grabbed the last of Jordan's birthday presents. This was the big one, but it was in the littlest box. Smiling, Lois pocketed it and went and sat down next to Chloe, who was resting her chin on the palm of her hand, eyes closed. Lois sat down in a chair next to her, running a hand lightly over her cousin's back.

"I always forget the tiredness," she heard Chloe mumble. The blonde opened her eyes and looked over at her. "More accurately, I always forget how tired all the morning sickness makes me. What an exhausting activity for there not being much movement involved. I think I'm still just a little bit in shock, and that probably doesn't help the exhaustion either."

"Well, when the morning sickness is as prevalent as it's been for you this time, I think you're lacking some nutrients, too. Are you going to eat any of the pizza that we ordered?"

"I'll probably eat a slice or three. Well, hungry as I am, I'll probably eat the better part of a whole pizza but regret it tomorrow morning. C'est la vie."

"C'est la vie," Lois said as she smiled slightly and leaned back in her chair. Checking her watch, she figured the crowd would be there any minute, and true to her guess, she heard footsteps above them and kids were soon rushing down into the basement, Jordan at the head of the pack, with Andy and Bobby bringing up the rear. A moment later, Jack walked down, followed by Bruce, who was followed by Clark.

Lois grinned and got up out of her chair, walking over to Clark and taking her son out of his arms. "My baby boy! Happy birthday, Layne."

Clark had brought her around to that name. She felt naming their son that was like naming him Clark Junior, which had held no appeal to him. After they'd had the sex confirmed with 3D imaging, they'd both made lists of names, and when it had all been whittled down, somehow they'd ended up naming their son Layne. He seemed to like it well enough, though he was only turning two, so that helped.

"Mommy love!"

Lois grinned, hitching him up a little higher as she walked back over to her chair. "Mommy loves you very much, Layne. How much do you love mommy?"

"Love lots!"

"And your mommy is a happy woman because of it."

Lois sat down and watched as Jordan inspected all the presents, looking at size and seeing if there was any special way they were arranged. It had probably been the same way for all kids that had birthdays and got far too many presents since the dawn birthday parties. She smiled as Jordan turned around and walked over to her, looking excited but obviously trying to control herself.

"Mom, when can I open presents?"

Mom. The first time that Jordan had called her mom instead of mommy Lois had just about cried. Her oldest was growing up way too quickly. Well, that was true for all her kids, but she had an eight year old daughter now! "You can always open presents, it just depends on if you're allowed to or not."

She had to fight to keep from grinning as Jordan rolled her eyes. She already had it down to an art form, the little over achiever. "Mom, when _may_ I open presents?"

"If your dad says go for it, then I say go for it, baby girl."

Jordan turned and spoke across the room. "Daddy, may I open presents now? Mom says I can if you say I can!"

"Go for it, Jordan."

And thus the carnage began as Jordan tore through wrapping paper like it was yet another obstacle in her path to raking in the presents. They'd do just as well to wrap everything in newspaper, for all the attention Jordan actually paid to it. A few minutes later, every box was unwrapped and Lois stood up, walking over to Jordan.

"How do you like everything, baby girl?"

"It awesome, mom!"

Lois smiled and pulled the box out of her pocket, handing it to Jordan. "Well, there's your last one until your friends come this weekend. Hope you enjoy it."

Jordan smiled up at her and tore into the box, opening it up to find a small, folded piece of paper inside. She unfolded it and started reading. Lois nudged her a bit. "Why don't you read it out loud for everybody to hear."

"'This certificate entitles one Jordan Sullivan Kent to the bicycle of her choice, within reason, along with a new helmet and small accessories of her choosing. Happy birthday. Love, Mom, Daddy, AJ and Layne.'" Jordan looked up at her. "Daddy made this, didn't he?"

"He did. How could you tell?"

"It says AJ instead of Andy."

"Very astute. So, we were thinking that we could go look at bikes on Sunday, since your party is on Saturday. How does that sound?"

"Good, mom. Thank you!"

Jordan hugged herself to Lois's waist, and Lois just grinned and hugged her back. She walked over and sat down next to Chloe again, getting Layne settled on her lap as she looked over to her cousin. "And now we relax and let the guys do the major watching work."

"Hallelujah. When's the pizza getting here?"

"Shouldn't be too long. Hungry?"

"Yup. Tonight will be a nice stretching exercise for the old ab muscles, getting em ready for what's to come."

"I bet I still out eat you."

"Don't you always?"

"I really do." Lois smiled triumphantly before it turned into a grimace. "Remind me to go jogging tomorrow."

Just then, Layne wriggled down off her lap and took off running, and Lois jumped up and took off after him. Fast little bugger that he was, he eluded capture until she cornered him, exasperated. She swept him up into a hug, sweeping the dark, curly hair out of his eyes and placed a kiss on his forehead as he giggled.

Suddenly, Lois stopped, remembering when she'd been flying with Clark in 2021 and having that vision type thing of what had just happened. Shaking her head, she looked down at her smiling son, and after a second, smiled right along with him. She walked back over to Chloe and sat down again, this time keeping an arm around Layne as he wriggled.

"Nevermind about that jogging. This one keeps me moving plenty."

A couple hours later, the Wayne's had headed home and Layne was down for the night, with Andy fading as she sat on the floor, coloring just like her sister had at the same age, and Jordan still engrossed in her presents.

Holding the diary, Lois walked over to Clark, who was on the couch watching the Metropolis Monarch's game. She sat down next to him and smiled as he looked over, and she held out the diary to him.

"What's this?"

"This is a diary that I started after the second time I forgot and has been going strong ever since. Well, until I was cured, that is. Having not forgotten during my pregnancy with Layne and in the subsequent two years, I think those problems are over and I wanted you to see this."

"Wow." He opened up to the first page and read it before looking over at her. "When was the last time you wrote in here?"

"When we found out I was pregnant with Layne. With the not forgetting after that, I never saw the need to write in it anymore. I've never been a diary kind of person, but that really helped me when I forgot back in 2021."

"How did I not know about it? I remember seeing you with this thing through the years, but you were always closing it or just brushed off my question about it by doing something sexy. I probably should have figured out what it was."

Lois smiled at him. "How did I not figure out you were Superman those first couple times I forgot when your disguise was _glasses_?"

He eyed her a second before shrugging. "Fair enough." He looked at it again a moment before speaking again. "Why now?"

"To close an era, Smallville."

November 13th, 2031

"You still make a good salad, Chlo," Lois said as she looked over at her cousin. Smiling, she popped a leftover crouton in her mouth and sighed contentedly as she sat back in her chair. Looking around at the long table, she studied the faces of all her family members. Everybody was smiling and talking, enjoying another big family dinner.

"And you didn't cook anything, which we all appreciate very much."

"Amen. Sorry, aunt Lo, but the one time you tried cooking for everybody, we all got food poisoning and it was a scary time in our two houses. I won't lie, there was a mutiny being discussed amongst us children since the adults let it happen."

Lois raised an eyebrow at Liz. "Was there now? Pray tell, who was the leader of this mutiny?"

"That would be me, mom."

Lois turned and smiled at Jordan, who was smiling right back at her and pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Lois knew that gesture well; she'd done the same thing at the same age whenever she thought there were going to be words, though admittedly hers with Jordan rarely had any heat in them. The General had taken to calling it her own personal version of putting on battle armor. She felt like doing right then wouldn't be the worst idea.

"My eldest daughter was plotting to overthrow the adults?"

"I would have led the charge if all the others had allowed you to continue cooking. The small dishes here and there making us queasy for a few hours was tolerable, but letting you make a whole meal? When even Grandma can't teach you to cook, it's a sure thing that the adults have lost all mental capacity in giving you reign over an entire _six course meal._"

"First off, that meal was only five courses. Secondly, just because I made all that food didn't mean you had to eat two helpings of most of it."

"Oh, yes I did," Jordan said as she pointed past her. Lois followed the finger and found herself looking at Clark. "Dad said that I had to be an example for Andy and Layne."

"Did he now?" Lois smiled at Clark, who visibly gulped and sat up a little straighter in his chair.

"He did, mom, and that's when I knew that he wasn't thinking on full power. I already knew to set a good example, because it's common sense. Never before had he or you sat me down to make sure I knew it."

"This is true," Lois said as she kept staring at Clark.

"After that, he went on like nothing had happened, and when Jack was looking equally as sullen on the way to dinner, I knew that he'd heard the same sort of speech."

"I did," he said. He sounded just like his father, but still looked just like his mom. It never failed to make Lois want to try and figure out just exactly how genetics worked.

"The next afternoon, after we'd all spent most of the night and morning feeling and getting sick, the young people held a meeting in our basement to discuss what would happen if we were put into a similar situation. We took a vote and it was a unanimous nine to nothing decision: the next time you make an entire meal we're going on strike, or at least to a restaurant."

Lois finally looked away from Clark and back at Jordan. "Nine to nothing? You, Jack and the twins I get. You're all thirteen or older, though a little young to be planning anything like a strike. Even Andy and Bobby are old enough, I guess, since they'll be ten in six months. Layne is really pushing it at seven, but your cousin Sharon is only four and your brother Caleb is three!"

Once again, the baby fever had hit her around the time Chloe had given birth to Sharon, and she'd talked Clark into trying to even things out and going for another boy. It had worked, Caleb being born just about nine months after Sharon had. "I think a more accurate tally is six to nothing, and I'm sorry, but you must have at least eight votes to strike."

"I'm old enough to vote, mommy!"

Lois smiled at Layne and nodded. "Alright honey, if you say so. Still, that leaves you guys one vote short."

"Jack and I discussed that separately and came to the conclusion that in the case of parental loss of mental capacities, as the senior member of each child group we can act as the voices of those too young to use theirs. Therefore, we voted on behalf of each, though they did attend and had their say. Each was surprisingly vociferous."

"I'm sure they were," Lois said as she turned away from Jordan and looked at Chloe, Bruce and Clark. "Our children are way too smart."

"I don't know, Lois. I think that if we were ever to allow you to make another big meal all on your own, they would have every right to stage their strike." Lois rolled her eyes as Bruce smiled slightly. "I'm proud of them, uniting against a common enemy."

"I don't think my cooking qualifies as the enemy, Bruce."

"Lo, your cooking is the bane of all humans that like to keep food in their stomachs."

"Wife, I hate to say it, but even I didn't feel so great after that meal. I remember seeing you keeled over in the bathroom, and until I knew everybody else had been stricken with the same, I thought you might be pregnant again. It actually rivaled the strength of your morning sickness for a little while."

Lois eyed each of them again, scowling. "It seems the vote really is unanimous against me cooking anymore. Alright, consider me staying out of the kitchen from now on." As she finished, there was a cheer from the children's end of the table, and Lois rolled her eyes. "Now that's just excessive!"

"We still love you, mom, but we're happy."

"Well, I love all of you too, Andy, but really, cheering?"

"You should be cheering too, Aunt Lois," Aly said.

"Instead of cheering," Lois said as she stood up, holding her glass, "how about a toast?" She watched as everybody picked up a glass and took a deep breath.

"To family: we don't always see eye to eye, and sometimes we form a union against one another, but we love each other, and that's what's important. Look out for each other, keep loving each other and make the best of life, because happiness is so much better than sadness. We're lucky, so cherish the love that's in this room. There's nothing else like it in the world."

"To family," she heard everybody else say amongst the clinking of glasses, and she took a drink of her wine, sitting back down and listening as conversations picked up again.

Taking a moment, she inspected each face, putting every feature she could to memory. Even if she hasn't forgotten since that day ten years ago when her life had seemed like it was being turned upside down, she still treated every day like it could be her last with these memories. She wanted these memories vivid another ten years down the line. She heard the clinking of a fork against a glass and watched as Jordan stood up.

"That was a good toast, mom, but here's what should really be toasted to: to no more meals that are going to put everybody out of commission!"

Lois threw her hands up and glared at everybody as they all clinked glasses again. "Thank you oh so much, baby girl."

"Had to be done, mom."

"I think I should start calling you my little terror instead of baby girl."

"If you do, I'll be sure to live up to the name." Lois frowned as Jordan grinned mischievously.

Clark leaned over and whispered in her ear. "Please don't. She's already got enough of your rebelliousness as it is." He kissed her cheek and smiled at her as she looked at him.

"Yeah, well, don't forget that you have a pretty rebellious streak yourself."

"I have to be drugged into it. What's your excuse?"

"It was more fun than being complacent," Lois said as she pulled him over for a searing kiss, then pushed him away a second later. "Are you going to be complacent, _Clarkie_?"

"Not if you're going to provoke me, _Sailor_. I love you."

Lois smiled, letting her head fall onto his shoulder as she watched everybody talk. "I love you too, Smallville."

The End.


End file.
